A 5 Mg/annum Combined Electrolysis Catalytic Exchange (CECE) Facility was designed, constructed and operated to demonstrate the CECE process for heavy water detritiation. In this demonstration faci...

Design and Operational Experience with a Pilot-Scale CECE Detritiation Process

Present status of hydrogen isotope separation by CECE process at the NIFS

One of the most used methods for tritium recovery from different sources of tritiated water is based on the combination between Combined Electrolysis Catalytic Exchange (CECE) and Cryogenic Distillation (CD) processes. The development, i.e. configuration, design and performance testing of critical components, of a tritium recovery system based on the combination CECE - CD is essential for both JET and ITER. For JET, a Water Detritiation System (WDS) is not only needed to process tritiated water which has already been accumulated from operation, but also for the tritiated water which will be generated during decommissioning. For ITER, the WDS is one of the key systems to control the tritium content in the effluents streams, to recover as much tritium as possible and consequently to minimize the impact on the environment. A cryogenic distillation facility with the aim to investigate the trade-off between CECE-CD, to validate different components and mathematical modelling software is current under development at Tritium Laboratory Karlsruhe (TLK) as an extension of the existing CECE facility.

TRENTA Facility for Trade-Off Studies between Combined Electrolysis Catalytic Exchange and Cryogenic Distillation Processes

The experimental industrial plant has been in operation in Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute to develop the combined electrolysis and catalytic exchange (CECE) process for hydrogen isotope separation since 1995. The plant is also used for processing tritiated heavy water waste; several tons of reactor quality heavy water have been obtained. Last year, the plant was updated to provide a means for heavy water detritiation with high detritiation factor. This paper describes the experimental results for heavy water detritiation. During heavy water purification from tritium detritiation factor about 103 was achieved. Heavy water with reduced contents of tritium less than 105 Bq/kg was withdrawn at the rate of 4.5 kg per day as a top product. The sample points located along the separation column allowed obtaining tritium concentration profiles within the column. The experimental data are compared with the ones predicted by computer simulation. CECE process is attractive for use in the heavy water hi-flux PIK reactor detritiation plant. This process can find an application at the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) fusion facility.

Heavy water detritiation by combined electrolysis catalytic exchange at the experimental industrial plant

Development of a water detritiation facility for JET

Analysis of process data from initial detritiation tests in a pilot-scale Combined Electrolysis and Catalytic Exchange (CECE) Facility1 indicated that very high detritiation factors (DFs), at least...

D. A. Spagnolo

Papers

Demonstration of Very High Detritiation Factors with a Pilot-Scale CECE Facility