Tritium in heavy water reactors 1

[EngineeringFan]

I want to know about the physical manner of tritium in heavy water circuits in a heavy water reactor.
is it in the form of T2 or TO2 or etc?
is it gas or liquid?
thanks to all.

 

[vpl]

Tritium isn't used in heavy water reactors; deuterium is. Both tritium and deuterium are really Hydrogen (H) atoms, but with one (deuterium) or two (tritium) neutrons added. The correct terminology is [sup]3[/sup]H for tritium, and [sup]2[/sup]H for deuterium, rather than the "T" and "D" used in non-scientific writing. Based on the questions you asked, I'm not really sure what interests you:

Do you want to know about heavy water reactors?
Do you want to know about tritium production?

Basic internet searches will provide you information about both of these subjects. I recommend that you start with subjects that end in ".gov" for government sites or ".edu" for educational sites.

But answering the specific questions: Tritium could be in either the form [sup]3[/sup]H[sub]2[/sub] or in the form [sup]3[/sup]HO[sub]2[/sub]. Additionally a tritium atom could also combine with a deuterium atom to create a [sup]3[/sup]H[sup]2[/sup]H molecule or with regular hydrogen to create a [sup]3[/sup]HH molecule. These are gaseous hydrogen. Both the gaseous and liquid form can be found in heavy water reactors.

Patricia Lougheed

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of the Eng-Tips Forums.

 

[EngineeringFan]

dear vpl, thanks for your answer.
I want to know about formation of tritium in nuclear power plants which use of heavy water (PHWR).
the main question is that if a leak occures in the circuit, it is a possibility for leak of tritium in the form of gas or liquid? and which one is the majority of the tritium in the heavy water circuit: the liquid form or the gas form?

best regards

 

[vpl]

I need to correct my answer on this. I wrote it late at night after a long day! The correct formula for water is H[sub]2[/sub]O not HO[sub]2[/sub]! So the sentence "Tritium could be in either the form [sup]3[/sup]H[sub]2[/sub] or in the form [sup]3[/sup]HO[sub]2[/sub]" should actually read "Tritium could be in either the form [sup]3[/sup]H[sub]2[/sub] or in the form [sup]3[/sup]H[sub]2[/sub]O."

Patricia Lougheed

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of the Eng-Tips Forums.

 

[vpl]

engineering fan:

If a leak occurs in a heavy water reactor, then the majority of the fluid leaked would be heavy water ([sup]2[/sup]H[sub]2[/sub]O or D[sub]2[/sub]O). Any tritium molecules would most likely have combined with oxygen, so they would be in the liquid form ([sup]3[/sup]H[sub]2[/sub]O or T[sub]2[/sub]O) -- which answers your second question. The tritiated water would be intermixed with and basically indistinguishable from the heavy water. So if there were a leak, then both the heavy water and the tritiated water would escape through the leak -- which, hopefully, answers your first question.

However, I'm not saying there was [red]zero[/red] gaseous tritium; just that the majority would be water.





Patricia Lougheed

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of the Eng-Tips Forums.