Recovery and recycling of lithium value from spent lithium titanate (Li 2 TiO 3 ) pebbles D. Mandal ⇑ Chemical Engineering Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400 085, India graphical abstract Effects of various process parameters on the recovery of Li-from spent Li 2 TiO 3 pebbles were investigated. From the experimental results it was observed that the leaching rate increases with speed of stirring till 450 rpm and then above 450 rpm; the increase in speed of stirring does not have any significant effect on the leaching rate as shown in the following figure. Effects of other parameters on the Li-recovery from spent Li 2 TiO 3 pebbles are discussed in this paper. article info Article history: Received 21 November 2012 Accepted 9 April 2013 Available online 27 April 2013 abstract In the first generation fusion reactors the fusion of deuterium (D) and tritium (T) is considered to produce energy to meet the future energy demand. Deuterium is available in nature whereas, tritium is not. Lith- ium-6 (Li 6 ) isotope has the ability to produce tritium in the n, a nuclear reaction with neutrons. Thus lith- ium-based ceramics enriched by Li 6 isotope are considered for the tritium generation for its use in future fusion reactors. Lithium titanate is one such Li-based ceramic material being considered for its some attractive properties viz., high thermal and chemical stability, high thermal conductivity, and low tritium solubility. It is reported in the literature, that the burn up of these pebbles in the fusion reactor will be limited to only 15–17 atomic percentage. At the end of life, the pebbles will contain more than 45% unused Li 6 isotope. Due to the high cost of enriched Li 6 and the waste disposal considerations, it is nec- essary to recover the unused Li from the spent lithium titanate pebbles. Till date, only the feasibilities of different processes are reported, but no process details are available. Experiments were carried out for the recovery of Li from simulated Li 2 TiO 3 pebbles and to reuse of lithium in lithium titanate pebble fabrica- tion. The details of the experiments and results are discussed in this paper. Ó 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction In the first generation fusion reactors two hydrogen isotopes viz., deuterium (D) and tritium (T) will be introduced at high 0022-3115/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2013.04.028 ⇑ Tel.: +91 022 25593938; fax: +91 022 2550515. E-mail addresses: dmandal10@gmail.com, dmandal@barc.gov.in Journal of Nuclear Materials 440 (2013) 104–109 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Journal of Nuclear Materials journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jnucmat