Apparatus for the reduction of tritium emissions into the atmosphere Page: 4 of 7
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AN APPARATUS FOR THE REDUCTION OF TRITIUM
EMISSIONS INTO THE ATMOSPHERE
by
C. M. Dube
D. 0. Coffin
R. D. Stoll
ABSTRACTA method is described for the removal of tritium from exhaust gases.
The equipment and techniques are presented for the conversion of tritium
to tritium water using a catalytic converter and the subsequent capture
of the tritium water on molecular sieves. T e test gas contained 0.5Z
tritium, and using flow rates between' 100 cm /min and 500 cm /min, a
reduction occurred in the amount of tritium in the exhaust gas by a
factor of over 250,000.I. INTRODUCTION
An Environmental Control System (henceforth
called ECS), is here described which processes
"waste" gas evacuated from a primary system and re-
duces the emission of radioactive tritium into the
atmosphere. The "waste" gas is a mixture of air,
tritium, deuterium, and helium-3 of varying propor-
tions. The basic chemical process is as follows.
The gas is mixed with air and then forced through
a catalytic converter which combines the oxygen in
the air with the hydrogen isotopes to form water
(heavy water and tritium water). The mixture then
flows through a molecular sieve which adsorbs the
water. The remaining gas is released into the
atmosphere.
II. MECHANICAL DESIGN
A schematic of the system is presented in Fig.
1. Gas is pumped into a holding tank from the pri-
mary system. Valve VO is controlled by the primary
system. The ECS may be started either when the hold-
ing tank pressure reaches a preset value (approxi-
mately 15 psig), or by a time switch, or manually.
The gas is pumped from the holding tank by a bel-
lows pump through a pressure regulator set at 1 psigimumallwabl pressure o 5pi;tee
tank.
Air is ieeioh
p r e s s u r r e g u l t hR o -a n e e ler n v a l e r r n g e enga
swFig. 1. System schematic.
and a micrometer needle valve. The pump has a max-
imum allowable output press te of 25 pig; there-
fore a relief valve set at 10 psi differential is
provided to bleed excess gas back into the holding
tank.
Air is injected into the system by an identical
pressure regulator and needle valve arrangement as
shown in Fig. 1. The two gas streams mix and flow
at a low rate through the catalytic converter where
the hydrogen isotopes combine with oxygen to form
water. The vapor mixture is then directed sequen-
tially by a 4-way valve through two containers fill-
ed with molecular sieve material, where the water1
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Dube, C.M.; Coffin, D.O. & Stoll, R.D. Apparatus for the reduction of tritium emissions into the atmosphere, report, June 1, 1973; New Mexico. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1033776/m1/4/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.