Tritiated Water Processing Using Liquid Phase Catalytic Exchange and Solid Oxide Electrolyte Cell

Liquid phase catalytic exchange (LPCE) is an effective method for enrichment and removal of tritium from tritiated water. Combined electrolysis catalytic exchange (CECE) process is an attractive application of a LPCE column. We proposed a new process that improves the CECE process. Using a solid oxide electrolyte (SOE) cell for electrolysis makes the CECE process more energy efficient and eliminates other disadvantages such as large tritium inventory and extremely slow system response. When the cell is used for recombination, the system becomes even more simple, efficiently, reliable and safe.