PROCESS FOR THE SEPARATION AND ENRICHMENT OF TRITIUM FROM TRITIATED FLUIDS, ESPECIALLY FROM COOLING WATER OF THE PRIMARY CYCLE AND THE DEUTERIUM/TRITIUM STREAMS OF A NUCLEAR FUSION PLANT

摘要

1. A process for separating and enriching tritium from tritiated fluids, more particularly primary-circuit cooling water and the deuterium/tritium streams in a nuclear fusion plant, characterized by the combination of the following process steps ; - the aqueous fluid to be de-tritiated is separated in a water rectification process into tritium-depleted aqueous top produit and a tritium-enriched aqueous bottom product ; - the partly de tritiated aqueous fluid, more particularly the partly de-tritiated cooling water from the primary circuit, is drawn from the water rectification process as top product ; - the aqueous, partly de-tritiated fluid is further tritium-depleted in a combined electrolytic/catalytic isotope exchange process and discharged as an almost completely tritium-free product stream to the environnement or returned to the cooling circuit of the plant ; - the tritium from the enriched aqueous bottom product is transferred in a catalytic isotope exchange process to a hydrogen stream from a low-temperature rectification process, and this aqueous bottom product is tritium-depleted, the H2 /HT mixture further separated in the low temperature rectification process being circulated between the two processes ; - the aqueous fluid depleted in the isotope exchange process is fed to the water rectification process for further rectification ; and - the tritium from the H2 /HT mixture is separated in the low temperature rectification process in the from of T2.