H3AT - Water Detritiation System

Description

The purpose of the WDS is to capture tritium from a larger volume of tritiated water into a small volume of hydrogen gas which is transferred to the Isotope Separation System for separation. Other hydrogen isotopes are discharged to atmosphere via the building stack after being sufficiently detritiated, while the oxygen released from the water is diverted to the ADS. This is done using a technology called Combined Electrolysis and Catalytic Exchange (CECE), which consists of electrolysis of tritiated water to produce tritium-containing hydrogen, then passing the released hydrogen through Liquid Phase Catalytic Exchange (LPCE) columns which promote isotopic exchange of the tritium with hydrogen in clean water. The main functions of the WDS are: • Receipt and interim storage of tritiated water produced by the H3AT tritium plant • Recovery and concentration of tritium from tritiated water into hydrogen gas • Discharge of tritium-enriched hydrogen gas to the ISS • Receipt of low-tritium hydrogen gas from ISS • Discharge detritiated hydrogen gas to stack • Discharge of oxygen released from tritiated water to the ADS • Transfer of tritiated water into or out of storage drums to allow for import or export of tritiated water