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STARTUP AND OPERATION OF A METAL HYDRIDE BASED ISOTOPE SEPARATION PROCESS (U)
John H. Scogin
Savannah River Technology Center
Westinghouse Savannah River Company
Aiken, SC 29808 U. S. A.
(803) 725-3197
ABSTRACT
Production scale separation of tritium from other
hydrogen isotopes at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in
Aiken, SC, has been accomplished by several methods.
These methods include thermal diffusion (1957-1986),
fractional absorption (1964-1968), and cryogenic
distillation (1967-present). Most recently, the Thermal
Cycling Absorption Process (TCAP), a metal hydride
based hydrogen isotope separation system, began
production in the Replacement Tritium Facility (RTF) on
April 9, 1994. TCAP has been in development at the
Savannah River Technology Center since 1980. The
production startup of this semi-continuous gas
chromatographic separation process is a significant
accomplishment for the Savannah River Site and was
achieved after years of design, development, and testing.
I. INTRODUCTION
The Thermal Cycling Absorption Process (TCAP) is
an efficient and reliable process for separating hydrogen
isotopes. Invented by Myung W. Lee of the Savannah
River Site (SRS), TCAP has been developed into a
dependable production process. Significant advances have
been made in column construction, packing materials,
operation, and control.
TCAP offers several advantages over cryogenic
distillation and was chosen in 1984 as the isotope
separation system for the Replacement Tritium Facility
(RTF) at SRS. TCAP has a smaller tritium exposed
volume, which allows a unit to fit in a typical glovebox,
where a cryogenic unit would require a large enclosure.
TCAP typically has a small inventory, which reduces the
quantity of tritium at risk. In addition, TCAP uses
simpler control logic than the continuous cryogenic
distillation columns, and operates near ambient
temperatures. TCAP's primary disadvantage is the cost of
the metal hydride packing material. TCAP can be used in
other applications in addition to providing high purity
tritium. For instance, it is expected that TCAP can be
used in the SRS facilities to clean deuterium to stackable
limits, and also clean up other contaminated tritium-
deuterium-protium streams.Anita S. Poore (nde Horen)
Savannah River Technology Center
Westinghouse Savannah River Company
Aiken, SC 29808 U. S. A.
(803) 725-3028
A brief overview of TCAP principles and theory is
presented, followed by a review of its development,
testing, and operation at SRS. Plant operating parameters
and throughput are classified and will not be discussed in
this paper.
II. EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS
TCAP uses palladium deposited on kieselguhr (Pd/k)
as the active packing material. Kieselguhr is a
diatomaceous earth with a large surface area. Palladium is
deposited on the kieselguhr granules using a palladium
salt solution and then reducing the palladium salt to the
metallic state. The material in the TCAP column
contains about 55 weight percent palladium, particle size
30 - 40 mesh, which allows high gas flow rates.
Basic TCAP hardware consists of two packed tubes
connected end-to-end. In the current design, one tube
contains Pd/k (the column) and the other (the Plug Flow
Reverser or PFR) contains kieselguhr, an inert packing
material. The PFR allows internal gas transfer to and
from the Pd/k column with minimal gas mixing. The
Product Feed Raffinate
Storage Storage Storage
Bed Bed Bed
CV CV CV
Column
(PFR
Figure 1. TCAP schematic
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Scogin, J. H. & Poore, A. S. Startup and Operation of a Metal Hydride Based Isotope Separation Process, article, February 27, 1995; Aiken, South Carolina. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc680702/m1/4/: accessed May 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.