Inert blanketing of a hydride bed using typical grade protium
- Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken (United States)
This paper describes the impact of 500 ppm (0.05%) impurities in protium on the absorption rate of a 9.66 kg LaNi{sub 4.25}Al{sub 0.75} (LANA0.75) metal hydride bed. The presence of 500 ppm or less inerts (i.e. non-hydrogen isotopes) can significantly impact hydrogen bed absorption rates. The impact on reducing absorption rates is significantly greater than predicted assuming uniform temperature, pressure, and compositions throughout the bed. Possible explanations are discussed. One possibility considered was the feed gas contained impurity levels higher than 500 ppm. It was shown that a level of 5000 ppm of inerts would have been necessary to fit the experimental result so this possibility wa dismissed. Another possibility is that the impurities in the protium supply reacted with the hydride material and partially poisoned the hydride. If the hydride were poisoned with CO or another impurity, the removal of the over-pressure gas in the bed would not be expected to allow the hydride loading of the bed to continue as the experimental results showed, so this possibility was also dismissed. The last possibility questions the validity of the calculations. It is assumed in all the calculations that the gas phase composition, temperature, and pressure are uniform throughout the bed. These assumptions are less valid for large beds where there can be large temperature, pressure, and composition gradients throughout the bed. Eventually the impact of 0.05% inerts in protium on bed absorption rate is shown and explained in terms of an increase in inert partial pressure as the bed was loaded.
- OSTI ID:
- 22429730
- Journal Information:
- Fusion Science and Technology, Vol. 67, Issue 2; Conference: TRITIUM 2013: 10. International Conference on Tritium Science and Technology, Nice Acropolis (France), 21-25 Oct 2013; Other Information: Country of input: France; 8 refs.; ISSN 1536-1055
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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