Oxygen Stream Management in a CECE Process

Abstract

In the combined electrolysis and catalytic exchange (CECE) process, the electrolyzer produces both hydrogen and oxygen streams. Hydrogen is typically fed to the bottom of the liquid-phase catalytic exchange column. The oxygen stream, however, is processed and afterward is either fed back to the trickle bed recombiner in heavy water detritiation or released to the exhaust stack in light water detritiation. This paper discusses the handling of the oxygen stream both in heavy and light water detritiation CECE processes. Oxygen leaving the electrolyzer has a trace amount of tritium gas in it as well as water vapor (due to diffusion across the membrane). Trace tritium is converted to vapor using a catalytic converter and then either scrubbed using an oxygen vapor scrubber or captured in a dryer bed. This study analyzes and compares the different options for handling the oxygen stream in a CECE process.

Keywords:

• Tritium separation
• liquid-phase catalytic exchange column
• combined electrolysis and catalytic exchange
• trickle bed recombiner
• oxygen vapor scrubber

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank David. R. Harris and John D’Angelo for approving the Kinectrics Internal Research Grant to perform this study.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.