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Tritium in heavy water reactors

Tritium in heavy water reactors

Tritium in heavy water reactors

(OP)
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.

RE: Tritium in heavy water reactors

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 3H for tritium,  and 2H 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 3H2 or in the form 3HO2.  Additionally a tritium atom could also combine with a deuterium atom to create a 3H2H molecule or with regular hydrogen to create a 3HH 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.

RE: Tritium in heavy water reactors

(OP)
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

RE: Tritium in heavy water reactors

I need to correct my answer on this.  I wrote it late at night after a long day!  The correct formula for water is H2O not HO2! So the sentence "Tritium could be in either the form 3H2 or in the form 3HO2" should actually read "Tritium could be in either the form 3H2 or in the form 3H2O."

Patricia Lougheed

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

RE: Tritium in heavy water reactors

engineering fan:

If a leak occurs in a heavy water reactor, then the majority of the fluid leaked would be heavy water (2H2O or D2O).  Any tritium molecules would most likely have combined with oxygen, so they would be in the liquid form (3H2O or T2O) -- 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 zero gaseous tritium; just that the majority would be water.



Patricia Lougheed

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