NEW HIGH-TEMPERATURE ISOTOPIC EXCHANGE FUEL PROCESSING LOOP DESIGN FOR ITER

A new high-temperature isotopic exchange (HITEX) fuel processing loop (FPL) design for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is proposed. The new design has advantages over previous ones that were based on catalytic oxidation or decomposition of impurities; it eliminates the need for impurity oxidation and electrolysis of DTO and does not rely on complicated catalytic decomposition reactions. In the HITEX design, tritium is exchanged out of impurities such as tritiated methane, ammonia, and water by swamping with H-2 and isotopically equilibrating the mixture in a high-temperature reactor. The reactor consists of a horizontal tube with an axial platinum metal hot wire operated at a temperature of 1173 K. The walls of the reactor are cooled to near room temperature to minimize permeation. Downstream from the reactor is a Pd/Ag permeator to separate out hydrogen and impurities. The separated H-2/HT stream is sent to the isotope separation system for tritium recovery.