Tritium Related Studies Within the JET Fusion Technology Work Programme

The JET Fusion Technology (FT) work programme was launched in 2000, in the frame of the European Fusion Development Agreement, to address issues related to JET and ITER. In particular, there are four topics related to tritium being investigated. Based on the experience gained on the existing tokamaks, first calculations indicate that in-vessel tritium retention could represent a burden for ITER operation. Therefore erosion/deposition studies are being performed in order to better understand the layer co-deposition and tritium retention processes in tokamaks. Moreover, testing of in-situ detritiation processes, in particular laser and flash lamp treatments, should assess detritiation techniques for in-vessel components in the ITER-relevant JET configuration.

To reduce the constraints on waste disposal, dedicated procedures are being developed for detritiation of metals, graphite, carbon-fibre composites, process and housekeeping waste. During the operational and decommissioning phases of a fusion reactor, many processes will produce tritiated water. Key components for an ITER relevant water detritiation facility are being studied experimentally with the aim of producing a complete design that could be implemented and tested at JET. This paper describes these topics of the FT-programme, the strategy developed and the results obtained so far.