Assessment of problems associated with tritium containment

Preventing tritium leakage across a large heat transfer area at high temperature is one of the most difficult problems associated with a D-T fusion reactor design. One of the most efficient methods to reduce the mobility of tritium is to convert it to tritiated water. Most solid breeder systems use a purge gas and assume tritium will be oxidized into the water form. For 17 Li-83Pb system, a double-walled steam generator is used. Tritium is assumed to be oxidized across the gap in between the two walls. However, if tritium cannot be oxidized efficiently, the tritium containment problem can become critical