ID :
79105
Wed, 09/09/2009 - 14:08
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/79105
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea to start full-fledged tests on nuclear fusion
By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will start full-fledged experiments on an indigenous fusion energy test bed that could help create a limitless source of clean electricity, the government said Wednesday.
The Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR), which cost over
US$300 million and took 12 years to build, was completed in September 2007 and
has been undergoing trial runs to check its capabilities, the Ministry of
Education, Science and Technology said.
Fusion power uses powerful superconducting magnets that can help contain
super-hot plasma reaching 300 million degree Celsius. Once this state is reached
the plasma can be fueled by naturally abundant deuterium and tritium causing a
fusion reaction that can effectively create an artificial sun on Earth.
The system, if perfected, is safe to use since it cannot explode, and produces
almost no pollution. The radioactive waste that is created becomes harmless in a
few years compared to thousands of years for byproducts from conventional fission
reactors.
The ministry said that for the past two years KSTAR has been able to maintain a
plasma field for up to 0.8 second, compared to just 0.1 second reached in its
first run, demonstrating a clear potential to evolve.
"With full scale operations, the goal is to maintain a plasma field for a 2 full
seconds with 0.3 Mega-Amperes of current and a magnetic field reaching 3.5
Tesla," said a ministry official.
The expert said that preparations are underway to meet this goal next month, with
the ultimate target of creating a stable plasma field for 300 seconds set for
2025.
"The 300 seconds is significant because it represents a 'steady state' that can
theoretically lead to indefinite operations of a fusion reactor," she said.
The ministry in charge of the country's science and technology policies said that
once KSTAR starts meeting its test targets, South Korea will be in a good
position to become a "pilot" test bed and in the long-run become a satellite
reactor to the larger International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)
being built in France.
It said that nine foreign laboratories have already expressed a wish to work with
South Korea, with the number likely to double in 2010 if this year's tests are
successful.
The state-run National Fusion Research Institute (NFRI) that operates KSTAR,
meanwhile, said that of all the experimental fusion reactors built in the world
since the 1960s, KSTAR is most similar to ITER, making it ideal to conduct tests
before the larger unit is built in 2018. Seoul joined the multinational ITER
project made up of the European Union, Japan, Russia, the United States and China
in 2003.
The NFRI in Daejeon, 164km south of Seoul, pointed out that before ITER is built,
the Korean test bed can be used to reduce the trial-and-error period related to
the operating systems and design, which can speed up construction. After the
international reactor goes on line, it can be used to conduct experiments that
may otherwise be overly time consuming for the larger unit. ITER is roughly 35
times the size of KSTAR.
If all tests on fusion power generation are successful, ITER member countries aim
to build a full-scale fusion power plant by the mid 2030s and a commercial
version capable of generating at least 1,000 megawatts of electricity by 2040.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will start full-fledged experiments on an indigenous fusion energy test bed that could help create a limitless source of clean electricity, the government said Wednesday.
The Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR), which cost over
US$300 million and took 12 years to build, was completed in September 2007 and
has been undergoing trial runs to check its capabilities, the Ministry of
Education, Science and Technology said.
Fusion power uses powerful superconducting magnets that can help contain
super-hot plasma reaching 300 million degree Celsius. Once this state is reached
the plasma can be fueled by naturally abundant deuterium and tritium causing a
fusion reaction that can effectively create an artificial sun on Earth.
The system, if perfected, is safe to use since it cannot explode, and produces
almost no pollution. The radioactive waste that is created becomes harmless in a
few years compared to thousands of years for byproducts from conventional fission
reactors.
The ministry said that for the past two years KSTAR has been able to maintain a
plasma field for up to 0.8 second, compared to just 0.1 second reached in its
first run, demonstrating a clear potential to evolve.
"With full scale operations, the goal is to maintain a plasma field for a 2 full
seconds with 0.3 Mega-Amperes of current and a magnetic field reaching 3.5
Tesla," said a ministry official.
The expert said that preparations are underway to meet this goal next month, with
the ultimate target of creating a stable plasma field for 300 seconds set for
2025.
"The 300 seconds is significant because it represents a 'steady state' that can
theoretically lead to indefinite operations of a fusion reactor," she said.
The ministry in charge of the country's science and technology policies said that
once KSTAR starts meeting its test targets, South Korea will be in a good
position to become a "pilot" test bed and in the long-run become a satellite
reactor to the larger International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)
being built in France.
It said that nine foreign laboratories have already expressed a wish to work with
South Korea, with the number likely to double in 2010 if this year's tests are
successful.
The state-run National Fusion Research Institute (NFRI) that operates KSTAR,
meanwhile, said that of all the experimental fusion reactors built in the world
since the 1960s, KSTAR is most similar to ITER, making it ideal to conduct tests
before the larger unit is built in 2018. Seoul joined the multinational ITER
project made up of the European Union, Japan, Russia, the United States and China
in 2003.
The NFRI in Daejeon, 164km south of Seoul, pointed out that before ITER is built,
the Korean test bed can be used to reduce the trial-and-error period related to
the operating systems and design, which can speed up construction. After the
international reactor goes on line, it can be used to conduct experiments that
may otherwise be overly time consuming for the larger unit. ITER is roughly 35
times the size of KSTAR.
If all tests on fusion power generation are successful, ITER member countries aim
to build a full-scale fusion power plant by the mid 2030s and a commercial
version capable of generating at least 1,000 megawatts of electricity by 2040.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)
