Marathon Fusion, has presented a model that proposes to convert mercury-198 into gold-197 inside nuclear fusion reactors. The process is based on the use of neutrons generated in the deuterium-tritium reaction. deuterium-tritium reactionwhich induce a transmutation that degrades mercury into its stable gold isotope. This proposal, according to the company, could be implemented without interfering with the reactor’s electrical generation.
Turning mercury into gold is no longer science fiction!
The economic approach is significant. Each gigawatt of thermal output could generate up to 5,000 kilograms of gold per year, without compromising reactor self-sufficiency. This would allow fusion facilities to double their economic value by combining electricity production with the production of valuable metals. production with the production of valuable metalsThis would substantially change the financial balance of this technology.
The idea, published in a preprint not yet peer-reviewed, has sparked the interest of the plasma physics and nuclear technologies. While the technical challenges are obvious, experts agree that the physical principle is plausible. The key will be to demonstrate that transmutation can be performed on an industrial scale while maintaining the functional integrity of the reactor.
Fusion reactors as key material factories
The model could be extended to the production of other critical materials. The possibility of synthesizing medical isotopes, metals such as palladium, or compounds for nuclear batteries introduces a new dimension to fusion reactors, which could be transformed into multifunctional sources of resources.
Founded in 2023 by specialists with backgrounds at SpaceX and Princeton, Marathon Fusion is backed by the U.S. Department of Energy, Breakthrough Energy and private investment funds. Its goal is to accelerate the adoption of fusion as a primary source of sustainable energy and diversified economic value.
Scientific publication and validation in progress
Technical details and simulations of the model have been published in the scientific repository arXiv under the title“Scalable Chrysopoeia via (n, 2n) Reactions Driven by Deuterium-Tritium Fusion Neutrons“.
In this study, the authors describe how the 14 MeV fast neutrons generated in a fusion plasma fusion plasma can induce efficient transmutations in a specialized reactor blanket configuration.
The paper concludes that this pathway would double the revenues of a fusion plant without affecting electricity production. The paper is currently in preprint, awaiting peer review.
Source: Marathon Fusion
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