Is Beryllium a Viable Nuclear Fuel Option?

[HaiderAbbas]

4Be8 + 0n1 → 3Li7 +2 0n1

Can we use above reaction for the production of neutrons? Is it possible to obtain a sustainable chain reaction when using Be as fuel?

 

[mfb]

Where does the ⁸Be come from? It is way too short-living to be the fuel of any reaction.

 

[SteamKing]

mfb is right. With a half life of 7*10^-17 s, a neutron would have a hard time finding a Be-8 nucleus before it spontaneously decayed. There also won't be an massive quantities of this material lying around either.