Nitrate-salt-cooled blanket concepts

Molten nitrate and nitrate/nitrite salt-cooled blankets have the unique property of low-pressure operation when compared to other potential blanket coolants. Tokamak and mirror blanket designs have been developed with draw salt coolant, a lithium aluminate breeder, and a beryllium multiplier in an HT-9 ferritic steel structure. These blankets have outstanding economic performance and good engineering feasibility. The most evident problem is the high activation of this coolant, which affects system safety. There are also several critical data needs that must be resolved by experiment. This class of coolants merits further consideration for commercial fusion reactors.