Development on the technology for tritium removal processes (II)

In order to decrease tritium exposure to workers, the ratio of which is up to 40% of total exposure, tritium removal facility is getting to be one of the considerable parameters in Korea, due to the next CANDUs to be operated at Wolsung NPP. For investigating the column characteristics of cryogenic distillation of H2/D2 system, a preliminary distillation apparatus for Ar/N2 distillation was designed and manufactured. It consisted of a distillation column (20 mm diameter, 500 mm height), a reboiler and a condenser, surrounded with a liquid nitrogen jacket and a vacuum insulating box. Several kinds of packing materials including Dixon ring will be tested. Computer simulation showed that the reaching time for steady-state was approximately 20 minutes, while the concentration ratio between the top and the lower art was around 2000. (Author)