Title : Detritiation of large volume of water with low tritium concentration by physicochemical methods of hydrogen isotope separation
Abstract:
The radioactive isotope of hydrogen, tritium, cannot be extracted from water by any selective methods used to remove, for example, Cs137 or Sr90. However, the operation of various industrial and experimental nuclear facilities, as well as scientific research using tritium-containing reagents, lead to the formation of tritiated water waste. As usual, the volumes of waste generated or accumulated over time are large and reach hundreds or thousands of m3, while the tritium concentration is low and amounts to 105–108 Bq/kg. Thus, these wastes are not of interest in the context of pure tritium recovery, however, the discharge of such wastes is unacceptable due to environmental reasons and exceeding the legally approved standards for tritium. The demonstrative example of the problems with such waste is the 10-year-old discussion about the destiny of some 1.3 million tons of tritiated water accumulated after the Fukushima accident. According to the latest information, the discussion ended with the TEPCO company starting construction of a kilometer-long pipeline into the ocean, through which this water is supposed to be drained within 30 years.
In Russia, over the past few years, the problem of detritiation of unbalanced water of Russian nuclear power plants has been discussed, the volume of which at each plant exceeds 2 000 m3/year at a tritium concentration in the previously mentioned range. This report discusses the prospects for using various physicochemical methods for the separation of hydrogen isotopes with the participation of water as a working substance for its purification. It is shown that the method of catalytic isotope exchange of hydrogen with water has the greatest prospects for use.
Audience Takeaway:
- The presentation will formulate the problem of handling low-level tritiated water, which
- consists in a contradiction between environmental and economic requirements
- Possible technologies for the separation of hydrogen isotopes that can be used to solve the
- problem of water waste detritiation will be considered
- The advantages of using the method of catalytic chemical isotope exchange of hydrogen
- with water for detritiation of water are shown
- A variant of eliminating the contradiction between environmental and economic
- requirements is considered when using this method in conditions of large-scale production
- of hydrogen within the framework of the concept of hydrogen energy
