Recovery of hydrogen isotopes from inert gas mixtures with a titanium particle bed

Abstract A comparative study between experiment and numerical calculations was carried out in order to clarify the characteristics of mass-transfer processes in hydrogenating a titanium particle bed. Hydrogenating rates in the bed were numerically calculated and were fitted to experimental data. The governing equations for the simulation were composed of the equilibrium isotherm of the Ti-H 2 system, the differential material balance equation of hydrogen in the Ti bed and the overall hydrogenating rate equation. The rate equation includes the following three contributions: diffusion in the solid particle, and in the boundary layer of the fluid and the hydriding reaction on surfaces. The comparison showed that the rate-determining step from 673 to 1073 K was the hydriding reaction on particles. An equation for a metal hydride bed was derived for a systematic design of tritium removal from the inert gas atmosphere of a tritium handling glove-box system.