Portable tritium processing using a drum bubbler

Abstract

I Prepared for DOE under contract No. W-7405-Eng-48 About the Cover This month's cover story (seep. I) reports on the background, design, and capabilities of the Portable Tritium Processing System (PYPS) currently being used to clean up and decontaminate the Laboratory's Tritium Facility under the Tritium Inventory Removal Project. The PTPS has four parts: a gas pumping and transport module, a gas analysis module, a scrubbing module, and a computerized operation and control module. Each is portable in the sense that it can be moved from place to place in the Tritium Facility and reconnected to the other modules for tritium gas recovery, analysis, decontamination, and cleanup. Mike Benapfl (left) and Vern Switzer arc pictured working at the computerized operation and control module, which permits semi-automatic remote activation of the other three system modules. In the foreground is the gas analysis module where the gas species (tritium as well as other gases) are identified at subatmospheric pressure and routed by the computer module operators to the correct location within the processing system for appropriate treatment and containment. The PTPS has been designed and built to the most stringent standards of worker and environmental protection. About the Journal States Department of Energy, was established in 1952 to do research on nuclear weapons and magnetic fusion energy. Since then, in response to new national needs, we have added other major programs, including laser science (fusion, isotope separation, materials processing), biology and biotechnology, environmental research and remediation, arms control and nonproliferation, advanced defense technology, applied energy technology, and industrial partnerships. These programs, in turn, require research in basic scientific disciplines, including chemistry and materials science, computing science and technology, engineering, and physics. The Laboratory also carries out a variety of projects for other federal agencies. Energy and Technology Review is published monthly to report on unclassified work in all our programs. Please address any correspondence concerning Energy and Technology Review (including name and address changes) to Mail Stop L-3, We have miniaturized current tritium processing technology for removing tritium from facilities and decontaminating them and have packaged the technology in modular units that are self-contained, easily transportable, and usable in confined spaces. X-Ray Lasers and High-Density Plasma We are developing the laboratory x-ray laser as a probe to obtain high-resolution images of high-density plasmas produced at the Nova laser facility. Three techniques and future applications are described. Research Highlights Silicon Carbide Microcomponents Modern Technology for Advanced Military Training Abstracts h b STE DlETRlBUTlON Of THIS DOCUMENT IS UNLIMITED U 1 9 20 22 25

Mathematical Comparison of Three Tritium System Effluent HTO Cleanup Systems

“…Values Used for Model. The model was run using practical conditions encountered at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory 14 . The details of this system will be the subject of a subsequent paper.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] Often such systems oxidize tritium in all forms to tritiated water and subsequently collect the water on an adsorbent such as molecular sieve. These systems have been shown to be very effective at reducing tritium emissions.…”

10.2172/620651

“…In operation, the pump pulls a partial vacuum over the surface of the water and draws air from the vacuum vessel through the water in the drum and tritium oxide is scrubbed out of the air stream. The drum is equipped with an aeration system located at the bottom of the drum to enhance the removal of tritium oxide 3 . The exhaust of the pump contains moisture which the dryer condenses out and returns to the drum.…”

“…Prior to each of the vacuum vessel openings, a number of tritium removal techniques were employed to remove significant quantities of tritium held in the surface layer of the graphite limiters (approximately 2000 lbs and 20 m 2 area). These techniques included pulse discharge cleaning (PDC), glow discharge cleaning (GDC) with deuterium and a helium/oxygen mixture and vacuum vessel bakeout under vacuum and while vented with air from the Test Cell 1 (~ one million ft 3 room that houses TFTR). When these activities were completed it was necessary to maintain the free tritium level at a low level prior to port cover removal in a cost effective manner.…”