Tritium Recovery from Liquid Lithium-Lead by Vacuum Degassing

Various techniques for tritium removal from the liquid eutectic Li₁₇Pb₈₃ under vacuum are considered as candidates for the tritium removal system (TRS) for the Mirror Advanced Reactor Study (MARS). The TRS baseline parameters require the removal of 60% of the tritium contained in the liquid metal at a tritium partial pressure of 1.0 × 10⁻⁴ torr (0.013 Pa). Degassing from a droplet spray was chosen as the preferred design option, although removal from thin films is a feasible alternative. Vacuum removal from a stirred pool was rejected because of the size and relatively poor transport conditions. The use of an inert purge gas was also rejected due to the large purge gas flow rate and the problem of separating tritium from a large quantity of inert gas.