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US 11,469,003 B2Granted
Advanced fuel cycle and fusion reactors utilizing the same
AssigneeHelion Energy, Inc.
InventorsJohn Thomas Slough, David Edwin Kirtley, Christopher James Pihl
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Examples of advanced fuel cycles for fusion reactors are described. Examples include fuel cycles for use in field reverse configuration (FRC) plasma reactors. In some examples, reaction gases may be removed from a fusion reactor between pulses (e.g. plasmoid collisions). In some examples, a D-3He reaction is performed, with the 3He provided from decay of byproducts of previous reactions (e.g. tritium).
Claims13
A method comprising:
- supplying deuterium and 3He to a fusion reactor;
- conducting fusion reactions including deuterium-3He (D-3He) fusion reactions and deuterium-deuterium (D-D) fusion reactions to produce reaction products comprising 3He and tritium byproducts;
- pulsing the fusion reactor;
- and
- removing, responsive to the pulsing of the fusion reactor, at least some of the tritium byproducts from the fusion reactor,
- wherein the at least some of the tritium byproducts from the D-D fusion reactions are removed prior to a deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion reaction, and
- wherein the at least some of the tritium byproducts that are removed prior to contributing to a D-T fusion reaction are produced by the fusion reactor during the D-D fusion reactions.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.