The Tritium effluent recovery system (TERS) is capable of capturing trace amounts of tritium ( < 100 µCi/m³) from a low flow (< 10 sccm) of hydrogen isotope effluent streams.  The effluent stream is co-injected with dry air into a low temperature oxidizer bed where the hydrogen isotopes are oxidized to water vapour.  The water vapour is adsorbed on a molecular sieve (MS) drier which will maintain a better than -40 ˚C dew point on the outlet thereby capturing all activity.  A dew point on the outlet of the drier indicates when the bed is fully loaded and needs to be removed and sent for reconditioning.  A second parallel drier is valved in when the first drier is removed to provide continuous system operation while the first drier is being processed.

            The TERS is a simple system with a hydrogen flow indicator, air flow indicator and alarm, oxidizer bed temperature controller, outlet temperature limit alarm and a dew point indicator and alarm.  The oxidizer bed is protected by an automatic bypass valve should the oxidation reaction generate too much heat for some unknown reason.  The whole system provides a visual alarm and dry contract relay indication for an oxidizer bed off-normal temperature conditions and/or for a high dew point condition in the effluent.

Design Benefits

            The TERS is a compact, fully integrated, self-contained unit with manual operation and visual indicators and alarms.  The NEMA 12 industry enclosure contains all electronics, components and process piping required.  The end user only supplies dry compressed air, the hydrogen isotope effluent stream to be treated, connection to vent and a 10A, 120VAC power connection.  A dry contract relay is provided for indication of an alarm event in the end user’s control system.