Enrichment of slightly concentrated tritiated water by electrolysis using a palladium cathode coated on ionic solid polymer membrane—Design and results

In nuclear installations, tritiated water is generally produced in the process of detritiation of air circulating in the glove boxes. The goal of this work concerns enrichment of this tritiated water at low concentration by electrolysis. The choice of this electrolyzer was dictated by the passivity of selected materials to the radiolysis in low-level tritiated water and the selectivity of the method avoiding further elimination of tritiated water and moisture before release in environment. According to the results, it is feasible to treat non-negligible volume of low-level tritiated water using a cathodic palladium membrane coated on an ionic solid polymer membrane. Presence of a palladium black deposit on the palladium membrane improves effectiveness. Enrichment in tritiated water depends on the isotopic separation factor, thereby the current and the permeability values.