Alessia SANTUCCI, has a Master Degree in Environmental Engineering (2006) and a PhD in Materials for Energy and Environment and at the University of Rome Tor Vergata (2012) and in collaboration with the University of Florida. She started her research activity developing proton conductor materials for fuel cells applications, membrane reactors and hydrogen pumps. Then, she dedicated herself to the study of the interaction between hydrogen and metallic materials, to the analysis of the chemical-physical properties of dense metallic membranes and to the application of membrane separation systems for the recovery of hydrogen isotopes in the context of fusion reactors. She won a grant for the development of ITER fuel cycle technologies and gained experience with the main tritium purification and extraction processes, safety procedures, and tritium measurement and storage systems also at the Tritium Laboratory of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany).
Currently she is a Researcher at ENEA in the Nuclear Department of Frascati.
RESEARCH ACTIVITY
Study, development and optimization of the fuel cycle of fusion reactors. Design of fuel cycle processes and technologies and tritium processing plants. Experimental and design activity of permeators and membrane reactors for the recovery of tritium from gaseous and liquid streams and in general for the processing of gaseous streams containing hydrogen. Research and development of alternative materials to palladium alloys. Study of hydrogen-metal interaction through macroscopic (permeability, diffusivity and solubility measurements) and microscopic (neutron spectroscopy) techniques. Development of mathematical codes for hydrogen isotopes transport, simulation activities for the estimation of inventories and permeation. Hazard and operability analysis using HAZOP. Hydrogen absorption, retention and release measurements in JET first wall materials (beryllium and tungsten).
PROJECTS and RESPONSIBILITIES
Scientific manager and lead engineer of the work package Tritium Fueling and Vacuum (WPTFV), EUROfusion related to the conceptual design of the DEMO fuel cycle. Participation at the TRANSAT project for transversal activities regarding fission and fusion reactors. Responsible for the tritium system in the SORGETINA project. Participation in the WPBB (EUROfusion) for the development of membrane technologies for hydrogen isotopes recovery from solid blankets and for the processing of tritiated water. Participation to the WPPMI regarding the development of numerical codes for the calculation of hydrogen isotopes permeation in DEMO cooling circuits. Responsible for the study and design of the tritium purification system from the cooling system of nuclear fusion reactors. Participation in WPJET3 (EUROfusion) for the study of the retention, permeation and release of tritium in JET first wall materials and inventory evaluation. Responsible for a contract with RINA for consultancy on the hydrogen absorption properties of low-alloy steels intended for hydrogen storage. Reviewer of the activities of the MICROGEN 30 Project about the production of hydrogen from methane and biomass using membrane reactors.
SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTION
For the complete list of publications refer to the following link:
https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=35748102300
• 119 publications, 1951 citations, h-index 26 (Source Scopus, February 2024)
Book Chapters
• Santucci, A., Tosti, S., Basile, A. Alternatives to palladium in membranes for hydrogen separation: Nickel, niobium and vanadium alloys, ceramic supports for metal alloys and porous glass membranes (2013) Handbook of Membrane Reactors, 1, pp. 183-21
• Santucci, A., Tosti, S., Membrane technology for tritium recovery in fusion power plants, (2024) Current Trends and Future Developments on (Bio-) Membranes, 446-470
Co-authors of two international patents
1) S. Tosti, N. Ghirelli, F. Borgognoni, P. Trabuc, A. Santucci, K. Liger, F. Marini, Membrane reactor for treating gases containing tritium, Numero di pubblicazione: US 8979984 B2, 17/03/2015
2) N. Ghirelli, S. Tosti, P. Trabuc, F. Borgognoni, K. Liger, A. Santucci, X. Lefebvre, “Process for the detritiation of soft housekeeping waste and plant thereof, Numero di pubblicazione: US 8821824 B2, 02/09/2014