Progresses in the development of the tritium extraction and removal system for the water-cooled lithium-lead breeding blanket in EUROfusion

In the EU DEMO reactor, the Water-Cooled Lithium-Lead Tritium Extraction and Removal system (WCLL TER) is dedicated to transporting tritium-rich PbLi from the Breeding Blanket to the Tritium Extraction Unit and then back to it, after tritium is extracted and routed to the fuel cycle. In addition to circulating PbLi and extracting tritium, the TER system maintains constant PbLi temperature of 330 ◦C, provides safe storage of PbLi during reactor shutdowns as well as PbLi purification from by-products and contaminants linked both to structural materials corrosion processes and neutronic reactions of Pb, Li and other dissolved species. This contribution presents the latest developments in the design of the WCLL TER and in some of the related key areas of research. Among the most significant outcomes, the Permeator Against Vacuum was selected as a reference tritium extraction technology, preferred over the Gas-Liquid Contactor and the Liquid Vacuum Contactor, and its design was updated based on recent experimental evidence. All components of the TER such as tanks, pipelines, valves and other equipment were integrated into the tokamak building, ensuring compliance with fundamental operating principles.