Conference Report on the 2nd International Symposium on Lithium Applications for Fusion Devices

Abstract

The 2nd International Symposium on Lithium Applications for Fusion Devices (ISLA-2011) was held on 27–29 April 2011 at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) with broad participation from the community working on aspects of lithium research for fusion energy development. This community is expanding rapidly in many areas including experiments in magnetic confinement devices and a variety of lithium test stands, theory and modeling and developing innovative approaches. Overall, 53 presentations were given representing 26 institutions from 10 countries. The latest experimental results from nine magnetic fusion devices were given in 24 presentations, from NSTX (PPPL, USA), LTX (PPPL, USA), FT-U (ENEA, Italy), T-11M (TRINITY, RF), T-10 (Kurchatov Institute, RF), TJ-II (CIEMAT, Spain), EAST (ASIPP, China), HT-7 (ASIPP, China), and RFX (Padova, Italy). Sessions were devoted to: I. Lithium in magnetic confinement experiments (facility overviews), II. Lithium in magnetic confinement experiments (topical issues), III. Special session on liquid lithium technology, IV. Lithium laboratory test stands, V. Lithium theory/modeling/comments, VI. Innovative lithium applications and VII. Panel discussion on lithium PFC viability in magnetic fusion reactors. There was notable participation from the fusion technology communities, including the IFE, IFMIF and TBM communities providing productive exchanges with the physics oriented magnetic confinement lithium research groups. It was agreed to continue future exchanges of ideas and data to help develop attractive liquid lithium solutions for very challenging magnetic fusion issues, such as development of a high heat flux steady-state divertor concept and acceptable plasma disruption mitigation techniques while improving plasma performance with lithium. The next workshop will be held at ENEA, Frascati, Italy in 2013.

Sorption of atmospheric gases by bulk lithium metal

“…Lithium conditioning of plasma-facing components has improved plasma performance and reduced recycling on multiple fusion devices [1]. The chemical composition of the lithium surface, which is affected by exposure to ambient air during venting and residual vacuum gases during operation, strongly influences interactions at the plasma-surface interface.…”

Lithium As Plasma Facing Component for Magnetic Fusion Research

“…These results have therefore confirmed the effectiveness of lithium PFC coatings in multiple devices and magnetic confinement configurations. Summary articles of the more recent lithium experiments and related research can be found in the conference reports for the 1 st and 2 nd workshops on lithium applications in fusion plasmas [20,21]. In addition to the plasma performance improvement, which was the main motivation for the earlier experiments, the recent lithium research has been also trying to address the reactor divertor PFC issues as noted by the APEX study.…”

Extraction of lithium from salt lake brine with triisobutyl phosphate in ionic liquid and kerosene

“…The lightest alkali metal lithium considered as a "future and strategic metal" is widely used in the fields of porcelain and glass making, refrigeration, metallurgy, medicine, aerospace, military industry, atomic energy, alloys and batteries, among others [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] . Lithium resources exist naturally either in solid ores or in liquid brines.…”