The reactor will then typically be connected to a circuit fed by a heat transfer fluid, which will transport the heat produced by the neutrons from fusion to a steam generator, which will in turn power the turbines to produce electricity.
While deuterium is widely available on Earth, the tritium needed to operate the tokamak will have to be “manufactured”. It will be produced inside the machine from a lithium (Li)-based ‘tritium blanket’. Under the effect of the neutrons produced by the fusion reaction, the lithium will generate enough tritium to compensate for the tritium that will have been “burnt” by the fusion reactions. A pumping and isotope separation system will recover the deuterium and tritium and inject them back into the system.
The reactor will then typically be connected to a circuit fed by a heat transfer fluid, which will transport the heat produced by the neutrons from fusion to a steam generator, which will in turn power the turbines to produce electricity.
