New arrangement for the air cleanup system to recover tritium

Journal Article · Sat Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1997 · Fusion Technology

OSTI ID:466353

Nishikawa, Masabumi; Takahashi, Kohsaku; Munakata, Kenzo; Fukada, Satoshi; Kotoh, Kenji; Takeishi, Toshiharu ^[1]

---

1. Kyushu Univ., Fukuoka (Japan)

At present, the standard arrangement of the air cleanup system responsible for emergency tritium recovery from room air is a catalytic oxidation bed with a heater followed by an adsorption bed with a cooler. One disadvantage of this arrangement is that trouble with the heater or the cooler could result in a loss of capacity to recover tritium. Another disadvantage of the catalyst-adsorption-bed arrangement is that tritiated water must be recovered with a high decontamination factor after dilution with a large amount of water vapor in the working atmosphere. The performance of a new arrangement for the air cleanup system, which consists of a precious metal catalyst bed preceded by an adsorption bed without heating equipment, is discussed. According to calculations, most of the tritium released to the room air is recovered in the catalyst bed through oxidation, adsorption, and isotope exchange reaction when the new arrangement is applied. The adsorption bed placed before the catalyst bed dehumidifies the process gas to such a degree that the oxidation reaction of tritium in the catalyst bed is not hindered by water vapor. 15 refs., 6 figs., 6 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 466353
• Journal Information: Fusion Technology, Journal Name: Fusion Technology Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 31; ISSN 0748-1896; ISSN FUSTE8
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
ADSORPTION
AIR CLEANING
CATALYSIS
COOLING SYSTEMS
DECONTAMINATION
DESIGN
EMERGENCY PLANS
HEATING SYSTEMS
NUMERICAL DATA
OXIDATION
PERFORMANCE
TRITIUM RECOVERY
WATER VAPOR