  The fusion rings of Wess-Zumino-Witten models are re-examined. Attention is
drawn to the difference between fusion rings over Z (which are often of greater
importance in applications) and fusion algebras over C. Complete proofs are
given characterising the fusion algebras (over C) of the SU(r+1) and Sp(2r)
models in terms of the fusion potentials, and it is shown that the analagous
potentials cannot describe the fusion algebras of the other models. This
explains why no other representation-theoretic fusion potentials have been
found.
  Instead, explicit generators are then constructed for general WZW fusion
rings (over Z). The Jacobi-Trudy identity and its Sp(2r) analogue are used to
derive the known fusion potentials. This formalism is then extended to the WZW
models over the spin groups of odd rank, and explicit presentations of the
corresponding fusion rings are given. The analogues of the Jacobi-Trudy
identity for the spinor representations (for all ranks) are derived for this
purpose, and may be of independent interest.
