Dynamics for HT and HTO Recovery Through Water Bubbler and CuO Catalyst

Dynamics of tritium recovery using CuO catalyst and water bubbler was studied as a function of gas flow rate and CuO temperature. The rate constant of tritiated water formation by CuO catalyst at the temperature above 500 K was determined to be k [s^-1] = 5.4×10⁵ exp (-0.65 eV / kBT). For the flow rate less than 50 sccm, it was found that the reaction rate will be controlled by the desorption rate of HTO on the surface of CuO. These results were applied for the design of tritium removal system at radiation-controlled area. It was concluded that the reactor tubing with 1.0 meter length at 600 K will be suitable to reduce the tritium concentration less than 1/1000 and the longer reactor tubing will be required if the operation temperature will be lower than 600 K.