Reply To: Repowering the electric utility industry

[asymmetric_implosion]

The one that I am aware of is reactions of the alpha particles with Beryllium (Be). The reaction combines an alpha particle and the Be-9 to make Carbon-12 (C-12) and a neutron. The alpha+Be-9 reaction is commonly used to make small neutron sources. Common sources rely on ~4 MeV alpha particles but I believe the reaction is exothermic other than that pesky Coulomb barrier problem. Other reactions would depend upon the specific materials that make up the first wall the system and the electrodes. I know Be has come up often in the discussions of the FoFu anode. The usual data bases did not have a reaction cross section but it has to be reasonable if the reaction is used in commercial neutron sources. This reaction alone might be enough to produce a significant neutron flux. The Beryllium will not be radioactive because the product is C-12.

It’s not at all clear to me that a Be anode can survive in FoFu-1 given that significant quantities of SS304 were observed to be eroded on smaller machines by Bures et al (DOI: 10.1109/TPS.2012.2183648). That is a bigger picture issue about x-ray absorption and electrode lifetime.

Another source that could contribute is D-D. If the fuel gas is isotopically pure, this reaction should not take place. More details of the vacuum chamber and electrodes are required to address any other reactions that might produce neutrons.