Recovery of tritium and deuterium from their oxides and intermetallic compound useful therein
AssigneeSaes Getters S.P.A.
InventorsClaudio Boffito, Massimo Bolognesi
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Abstract
There is described a process for the recovery of deuterium and tritium from their oxides, such has heavy water and tritiated water, comprising the steps of reacting the oxides of deuterium and tritium with an intermetallic compound having a formula ZrM.sub.2, where M is a transition metal chosen from the group comprising Cr, Mn, Fe, Co and Ni such that it sorbs oxygen and released deuterium and tritium. The reaction preferably occurs by contacting the impure gas with the ZrM.sub.2 alloy as defined above, in the form of a compressed powder. A preferred alloy is the intermetallic ternary compound ZrMnFe.
Claims12
A process for the recovery of tritium and deuterium from their oxides characterized by reacting oxides of tritium and oxides of deuterium with an intermetallic compound of the formula, ZrM.sub.2 where M is any transition metal selected from the group consisting of Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni and mixtures thereof, thereby sorbing oxygen and releasing tritium and deuterium.
A process for the recovery of tritium and deuterium from their oxides characterized by reacting oxides of tritium and oxides of deuterium with an intermetallic compound of the formula:
- ZrMn.sub.2 thereby sorbing oxygen and releasing tritium and deuterium.
A process for the purification of an impure stream of tritium contaminated with oxides of deuterium and contaminated with oxides of tritium, comprising the steps of:
- I. contacting the impure stream with an intermetallic compound of the formula ZrM.sub.2 where M is any transition metal selected from the group consisting of Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni and mixtures thereof;
- and
- II. forming oxides from the intermetallic compound and from the oxygen of the oxides of tritium and from the oxygen of the oxides of deuterium;
- and
- III. returning tritium and deuterium to the gas stream.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.