 | ConcentratorUsed in active waste facilities , research establishments, nuclear facilities, and fusion laboratories for removing tritium from either light or heavy water by concentrating tritium into smaller quantities of water. The product is useful for concentrating tritium in water for storage, or it can be used as part of a larger system for removing tritium completely and storing the pure product on getter beds.
The concentrator is part of a system to remove tritium from water. It starts with purification to make sure the water is suitable for the next stage in the process. The water is passed through an electrolyzer converting to hydrogen and oxygen; and the hydrogen, bearing the tritium, is collected separately and is passed through the concentrator. This transfers tritium from rising hydrogen isotopes in the concentrator columns to descending water, and results in higher concentrations of tritium being contained in the bottoms water. Tritium-free hydrogen isotopes are released. The increase in tritium concentration may be 1000 times or more. In the case of heavy water the released hydrogen (deuterium) will be recombined with oxygen to produce clean heavy water. Further treatment outside the tritium concentrator system involves passing the concentrated tritiated water once more through the electrolyzer , then separating tritium from the gaseous hydrogen isotopes so produced in an isotopic separation facility. The isolated tritium can be stored on getter beds. The tritium concentration facility cannot be used in isolation from the electrolyzer, which becomes an integral part of the process, but it may be used independently of an isotopic separation system (ISS). An ISS is only required if full separation and storage of pure tritium on getter beds is a requirement. In the event that the tritium concentrator is used for heavy water detritiation, the operation is less efficient as the clean heavy water for column counter-flow must be produced by recombining oxygen from the electrolyzer with the detritiated deuterium from the top of the column resulting in a lower detritiation rate. To date Tyne has manufactured 37.5 mm dia and 100 mm dia columns for both light and heavy water. The stainless steel columns are about 30 meters in overall length. The column valves and controls are operated from a glove box located at the base of the columns. The systems have been provided with fully automatic controls. The larger columns process heavy water at the rate of about 100 cc/min. The maximum temperature in the system is about 60°C, and pressure is essentially atmospheric. The larger unit will process up to 5 tons of heavy water per year. Greater quantities can be handled in a larger scale systems. Please call to discuss individual Purchaser requirements. |
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