Improvement of a numerical model for gas-liquid contactor in tritium extraction from liquid PbLi

Abstract Efficient tritium extraction from liquid lead-lithium (PbLi) breeding blankets is critical for fusion reactor technology development. In this study, numerical simulation methods based on a fundamental gas-liquid contactor (GLC) model were employed to optimize boundary conditions and external structures, ensuring stability of liquid PbLi level during operation. Computational results show that the improved GLC achieves a tritium extraction efficiency of 19.18%. Further enhancement was realized by increasing GLC mesh density and installing a gas-guiding device at the internal helium inlet, significantly improving gas-liquid contact within the GLC. Final results indicate that GLC’s tritium extraction efficiency increased to 25.73%, suggesting that the gas guiding device introduction effectively enhanced gas-liquid contact and tritium extraction efficiency.