Transport properties of hydrogen isotope gas mixture through ceramic protonic conductor

Kawamura, Yoshinori; Konishi, Satoshi; Nishi, Masataka; Kakuta, Toshiya*

To establish the nuclear fusion reactor, tritium bred in the breeder blanket of the fusion reactor must be recovered effectively. The present authors have proposed the blanket tritium recovery system using the hydrogen pump with solid electrolyte membrane. Hydrogen isotopes including tritium can be separated from helium purge gas of the breeder blanket by the protonic conductor membrane which pumps out hydrogen isotopes selectively by applying a few potential difference between its faces. Perovskite-type ceramic such as SrCeYbO, is one of the candidate protonic conductor for hydrogen pump and its ionic hydrogen transportation properties have been investigated. Deuterium transportation properties have also been investigated to understand the isotope effect. Through the investigation up to now, the basic hydrogen isotope transportation property of SrCeYbO, its technical feasibility, and issues for further development toward the practical devices were revealed.