DEVELOPMENT OF EXPERIMENTAL PILOT PLANT EQUIPMENTS TO MAKE NUCLEAR ENERGY MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY

Abstract.In the nuclear reactors using uranium as fuel and heavy water as moderator, after a while, due to increased tritium concentration as result of neutrons capture on deuterium nucleus, we have to establish a set of measures to decrease the tritium concentration. The amount of tritium obtained in a CANDU reactor is about 2,4 KCi/MW. The experimental plant realise the separation and extraction of tritium from tritiated heavy water at 30 Ci/kg (for a higher concentration will be diluted at that level).The tritium request in the USA was 4*106 Ci in 1980; in Romania was 2*104 Ci in 1990, 3*104 in 2000 and will continue to increase. On present times the price for tritium is estimated at about 2$/Ci[1] on international market and increasing. This is due to growing and continues diversification of application fields; nuclear medicine, nuclear fusion, research labs. The experimental Pilot plant for tritium and deuterium separation, part of National Research and Development Institute for Cryogenics and Isotopic Technologies- ICSI Rm.Valcea, as principal target have to establish the technology of the waterhydrogen catalyzed isotopic exchange and cryogenic distillation for mixtures of hydrogen and his isotopes diatomic species. The main target of the experimental pilot plant is to establish the detritiation technology of CANDU reactor moderator and to certify the equipments specific for cryogenic domain and tritiated mediums. The most important part of the experimental Pilot plant for tritium and deuterium separation is module 300 (cryogenic distillation of hydrogen/deuterium/tritium mixture). The principal goals on to that module are