ELECTROLYTIC TRITIUM ENRICHMENT OF NATURAL WATER SAMPLES FOR TRITIUM ANALYSIS

ABSTRACT. Electrolytic tritium (3H) enrichment in a batch process has proved to be suitable for low-level 3H determination. However, all available electrolysis systems have a reproducibility error (3-6%), which limits greatly the accuracy of the total measurement process and, thus, the scale of possible hydrogeological conclusions. These fluctuations are caused by 3H losses from incomplete isotopic separation in the cathodic processes and evaporation. Several electrolysis systems show the development of the cathodes ' capacity to catalyze the isotopic exchange reaction,1H'H + 1H2O 1H, + 1H'H0, to be the essential parameter for developing separation factors and their fluctuations. Extremely high separation factors are made possible by the consecutive reaction sequence of the cathodic processes and the isotope exchange reaction. A further improvement of enrichment accuracy can be reached by an efficient technique to reduce evaporation