Hydrogen isotope separation by cryogenic distillation

Yamanishi, Toshihiko

In a fusion reactor, the hydrogen isotope separation system is required in the fuel cycle system to supply deuterium (D) and tritium (T) as its fuel. In ITER, 90% of T must be recycled through the isotope separation system. On the other hand; since the hydrogen (H) gas is finally exhausted to the environment, the T concentration in the H gas from the isotope separation system should be as low as reasonable achievable. Hence, the isotope separation system of a fusion reactor must have a large separation factor. The flow rate of the isotope separation system of a fusion reactor reaches to 300 mol/h. Only the cryogenic distillation method can meet the above conditions (large flow rate and separation factor) and is most likely used as a hydrogen separation system in a fusion reactor. In this chapter, several simulation methods and a set of experimental data of the cryogenic distillation columns are described in detail.