Development of the JAERI Fuel Cleanup System for Tests at the Tritium Systems Test Assembly

The Tritium Process Laboratory (TPL) at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) has developed a Fuel Cleanup System (FCU) which accepts simulated fusion reactor exhaust and produces pure hydrogen isotopes and tritium-free waste. The major components are; a palladium diffuser, a catalytic reactor, cold traps, a ceramic electrolysis cell, and zirconium-cobalt beds. In 1988, an integrated FCU process loop was installed in the TPL. A number of “hot” runs were performed to study the system characteristics and improve performance. Under the US-Japan collaboration program, the “JAERI Fuel Cleanup System” (JFCU) was designed and fabricated by JAERI/TPL for testing at the Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) in Los Alamos National Laboratory as a major subsystem of the simulated fusion fuel cycle. The JFCU was installed in the TSTA in early 1990.