EE0111

FUTURE IS FUSION AS A SUSTAINABLE

NON - CONVENTIONAL ENERGY SOURCE

1 Ms.B.SRIVIDYA 2 Ms.S.SOUJANYA

Abstract:

World population growth and the rising standard of living in developing

countries increase
strain on the energy supply and the impact of energy consumption. We cannot rely
on fossil fuels
indefinitely. Firstly, supplies of oil, coal and gas are finite and will eventually run
down. Secondly,
the greenhouse gases produced through the burning of fossil fuels are a major driver
of climate
change, scientists believe. The challenge ahead is to supply an increased worldwide
demand,
while restricting carbon emissions and conserving the dwindling supply of fossil fuels
A long-term solution to overcome the present energy demand is FUSION
RESEARCH;
constructional inventions made on this process will energize the whole world more
than needs.
Nuclear fusion offers perhaps the best potential for a solution to the world’s energy
needs, and now
Keywords:
is the time for renewed focus on the remaining scientific challenges that must be
overcome before
a viableFusion
fusionResearch, Fossilcan
power station fuels,
be Plasma,
built. Greenhouse
gases.
This paper deals with the fusion processes, reactor design and getting power
Conclusion:
from reactor
plant, that can be the major energy source for future and how it can alter the face of
In few
the world decades, controlled nuclear fusion has been promised as safe, green
with
alternative to
its own way of advancement.
fossil fuels, environmentally acceptable energy alternative for the future; enabling
the production of
vast amounts of energy from abundant sources. Actually, the international controlled
fusion
research programme is sound and healthy, and has achieved significant progress
(International
Fusion Research Council 2005), but the road to the reactor is more difficult than
1. III/ IV B.Tech
originally 2. III/ IV B.Tech
D.V.R
envisioned. College of Engg and Tech D.V.R College of Engg and Tech
vidya242@gmail.com

.
 GROWING NEEDS FOR ENERGY:

Energy is required to sustain and improve the quality of life. Primitive man
requires energy
in the form of food, which he got by eating animals, plants. He used his own muscles
to help him
convert energy into useful work. In course of time he begins to use the wind energy
for sailing
ships or driving wind mills and the waterfalls to turn water wheels. So far, he was
using only
renewable sources of energy. The industrial revolution brought about far-reaching
changes. Man
began to use new sources of energy like coal, oil & natural gas. With the discovery of
electricity
and development of central power station based on hydro/fossil fuels, the harnessing
of energy for
comforts and economic well being, heralded a new era. The Second World War
brought a new
source of energy, nuclear energy with its stunning success in the energy arena.
The future demands for energy are likely to increase, both an account of
ENERGY
increase in
PER
PRIMARY ENERGY CONSUPTION IN
11374 WORLD IN 2000
population and standard of living in various parts of the globe. The world population
12000
CAPITA,POP
ULATION
increasing
10000
at a PETROLIUM
rate of 25, while the energy consumption rate is increasing at 5% per year.
8000 The world energy consumption is rather unevenly divided among the nations.
NATURAL GAS

6015
5500 5212
COAL
6000
4368
3825 HYDRO POWER
4000
NUCLEAR
ENERGY
2000 974 1251
131176 310 252 58 58 61 805
0

JA D R CE M
SA U
U AN AN
PA IN IA SS U K
N FR ER Y
COURTESY:-Conservation Gcommission
C of the world energy conference, Guildford
H
(UK) (Year IN
COUNTRIES2000). A

WHY FUSION
SUSTAINABLE.


ECO
 FRIENDLY

 CONTRIBUTION TO GLOBAL WARMING IN ANY FORM.NO

ABUNDANT
 FUELS.

 LONG LIVED RADIOACTIVE PARTICLES.NO

CONTROLLABLE


GIGANTIC
 ENRGY SOURCE FOR ALL FUTURE NEEDS.

UNINTERRUPTED
 POWER SUPPLY (THEY WORK INDEPENDENT OF THE WEATHER,

UNLIKE WIND AND SOLAR POWER).

EFFICIENT
 CONVERSION OF MASS TO ENERGY.

WASTES
 AS INERT GAS.

RENEWABLE


WHAT IS FUSION?

A form of nuclear reaction in which, two light atomic nuclei fuse together to form
heavier
ones. The fusion process releases a large amount of energy, which is the energy
source of the sun
and the stars.

For two nuclei to fuse, a substantial energy barrier must be overcome before
fusion can
occur. At large distances two naked nuclei repel one another because of the repulsive
electrostatic
force between their positively charged protons. There must have enough kinetic
energy to
overcome the force of electric repulsion that keeps them apart. This we can achieve
by applying
thermo nuclear temperatures /velocities. If two nuclei can be brought close enough
together,
however, the electrostatic repulsion can be overcome by the nuclear force which is
stronger at
close distances.
The element hydrogen has the lowest atomic number, since the nuclei of its
three isotopes
all carry a single positive charge. Hence hydrogen isotopes, which also have the
lightest nuclei,
should be particularly suitable for the production of energy by the fusion of two light
nuclei to form a
heavier nucleus. Two isotopes of Hydrogen, Deuterium and Tritium nuclei are
accelerated towards
each other at thermonuclear temperatures/velocities. They combine to create an
unstable Helium-5
nucleus, but which is highly unstable, decays into He-4 nucleus, a neutron and both
with ejection of
high energies
2351H +1H 2He
2He5 2He4 (3.5MeV) + n (14.1MeV)

MECHANISM FOR ENERGY PRODUCTION

Different light elements can be used for fusion. The reaction which requires
the lowest
temperature and confinement product is that between deuterium and tritium. In
this process a
heliumByatom and neutron
surrounding with high
the plasma energies
with are ejected.
highly effective walls, the neutron kinetic
energy is
converted to heat during slowing down. The heat is taken away from the plant by a
coolant, which
is used to run turbines, lead to production of electric power.
 An ideal model of fusion reactor.

TECHNICAL ISSUES:

Need enough particles to fuse:

n•
Need to keep the plasma together long enough for fusion reactions
to occur: τ
Need enough energy for the particles to
fuse: T
So the product n τT must be large enough to sustain fusion events at a sufficient
level to produce
net power.
 REQUIREMENTS
A) FUEL.
Prime fuels used in a fusion reactor are Deuterium,
Tritium.
DEUTERIUM, also called heavy hydrogen, is a stable isotope of hydrogen with a
natural
abundance in the oceans of Earth of approximately one atom in 6500 of
hydrogen. Deuterium
thus accounts for approximately 0.015% of all naturally occurring hydrogen in the
oceans on
The deuterium fuel is abundant in water (30 g/m3) and can be extracted by
Earth, very little deuterium in the interior of the (Sun), since thermonuclear
electrolysis.
reactions destroy it.
Lake Geneva alone, for instance, contains enough deuterium to supply all the
primary energy
needed by our planet for several thousand years.
 TRITIUM does not occur naturally and will be bred from Lithium within the
machine.
Therefore, once the reaction is established, even though it occurs between
Deuterium and Tritium,
the external fuels required are Deuterium and Lithium.Consequently, the deuterium-
tritium fuel
n + 6Li → T + 4He
cycle requires the breeding of tritium from lithium using one of the following
reactions:
n + 7Li → T + 4He + n

B) PRODUCTION OF PLASMA

Plasma is typically super heated ionized gas simply as an electrically neutral

medium of
positive and negative particle. "Ionized" refers to presence of one or more free
electrons, which is
not bound to an atom or molecule. The free electric charges make the plasma
electrically
conductive so that it responds strongly to electromagnetic fields. Charged particles
must be close
enoughHightogether
temperature means
that each high average
particle ionmany
influences velocity. Thecharged
nearby fastest ions in head-on
particles,
collisions
rather than just
produce
interactingfused
withnuclei.
the closest particle.
Fusion reactor plasma must fulfill the following basic two
conditions
(i) The product of the plasma density and the confinement time of the
plasma thermal
energy must be at least of the order 10^20 m-3 s and
(ii) The plasma temperature must be at least 100
million K.

Operations to make plasma

In an operating fusion reactor, part of the energy generated will serve to maintain
the plasma
temperature as fresh deuterium and tritium are introduced. However, in the
startup of a reactor,
either initially or after a temporary shutdown, the plasma will have to be heated to
some low
temperatures than desired. Insufficient fusion energy is produced to maintain the
Ohmic
plasmaHeating
Since the plasma is an electrical conductor, it is possible to heat the plasma by
temperature.
passing a current
through it; in fact, and the current that generates the poloidal field also heats the
plasma. This is
called ohmic (or resistive) heating. The heat generated depends on the resistance of
the plasma
and the current. But as the temperature of heated plasma rises, the resistance
decreases and the
ohmic heating becomes less effective. It appears that the maximum plasma
temperature attainable
by ohmic heating is 20-30 million degrees Celsius. To obtain still higher
temperatures, additional
heating methods must be used.
Neutral-Beam Injection
Neutral-beam injection involves the introduction of high-energy (neutral) atoms into
the ohmically
heated, magnetically confined plasma. The atoms are immediately ionized and are
trapped by the
magnetic field. The high-energy ions then transfer part of their energy to the plasma
particles in
repeated collisions, thus increasing the plasma temperature.
Radio-frequency heating
In radio-frequency heating, high-frequency waves are generated by oscillators
outside the reactor
plant, have a particular frequency , their energy can be transferred to the charged
TECHNOLOGICAL & ECONOMICAL HURDLES
particles in the
plasma, which in turn collide with other plasma particles, thus increasing the
temperature of the
 Designing the plants to retain temperatures equivalent or greater
bulk plasma.
than that at
Sun’s core.
 Production of thermonuclear temperatures to heat the
plasma, and
manufacture of super conducting magnets.
 Developing fusion technology including superconducting magnets
and
advanced materials, especially low-activation first-wall materials.
Advancing
plasma and fusion science and engineering in pursuit of national
science and
 It is far fromgoals.
technology clear whether nuclear fusion will be economically
competitive with
other forms of power. The low estimates for fusion appear to be
competitive
with but not drastically lower than other alternatives.

BENEFITS

No chain reaction is involved and the reaction is thermally self-limiting. The

reaction can
never run out of hand.
EFFICIENCY IN CONVERTING MASS INTO ENERGY:

To generate 1000 MW in one day requires 9000 tons of coal and generates 30,000
tons of CO 2
(plus other noxious gases, e.g., SO2 and NO2). To generate the same amount of
energy from
fusion requires about POLLUTION:
NO ATMOSPHERIC 2.5 pounds of D + T and makes 2 pounds of He.
 The fusion reaction produces helium which is an inert gas. Fusion produces no
greenhouse gas emissions. Fusion power plants will not generate gases such as
carbon dioxide
that cause global warming and climate change, or other gases that have damaging
effects on the
environment.
LOW-COST, ABUNDANT FUELS:

First of all, fusion is an almost limitless fuel supply. The basic fuels are
distributed
widely around the globe. Deuterium is abundant and can be extracted easily
from sea
water. Lithium, from which tritium can be produced, is a readily available light
metal in the
NO LONG-LIVED RADIOACTIVE WASTE:
Earth’s crust.

Only metal parts close to the fusion plasma will become radioactive.
Any
radioactive waste generated will be small in volume and the radioactivity
will decay over
several decades with
AN INHERENTLY the SYSTEM:
SAFE possibility of reuse after about 100 years.

A “melt-down” cannot occur! Fusion reactors are passively safe. Even the worst
conceivable accident would not require evacuation of the surrounding population
because always
required amount of fuel is supplied for second to sec unlike in fission where a large
fuel is supplied
at a time.

REAL SCENARIO

The Joint European Torus (JET), the world’s largest fusion device, has already
achieved energy
break-even. JET has made great advances, but is unable, and indeed was never
designed to
produce a blueprint for an energy-producing reactor. This is why the next generation
machine,
ITER, which should see its first plasma around 2015, is necessary.
ITER’s experimental programme will lead to a design for an energy-producing
reactor
within the coming decades.
ITER will be the final step of scientific validation on the road to a technically
viable reactor. If successful, it will be followed by an energy-producing demonstrator
that
will allow the technology for large-scale energy production to be put through its
paces
before a prototype of fusion reactor can show its economic competitiveness. The
need for
ITER, a machine integrating the science and technology of fusion energy production,
is
undisputed.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

 “Non conventional sources of energy” by G.D.Rai.

 Proceedings of International Conference on New Millennium “Alternate
Energy
Solutions for Sustainable Development “Jan17-19, 2003, P.S.G & SESI.
 R. W. Bussard, "Fusion as Electric Propulsion," Journal of Propulsion and
Power, v
6.
 "Nucleus", Encyclopedia Britannica,” nuclear reactor”, Wikipedia.
 Wilson P. and Fischer U.: “Analysis and Implementation of a Monte Carlo
High
Energy Neutron.
 Source for IFMIF,” Proc. 19th Symposium on Fusion Technology,