Uranium beds for tritium gas storage?

Uranium getters or storage beds are successfully used for the storage, pumping and purification of tritium gas. Uranium tritide not only has a high storage capacity, but also a very low dissociation pressure at room temperature. Such hydrides are an extremely attractive alternative to the storage of hydrogen isotopes in pressurised containers. Heating UT₃ releases tritium gas from the solid phase. At room temperature, the depleted uranium metal immediately absorbs tritium gas. This reversible reaction of release and re-absorption of tritium can be repeated as often as required and without loss of efficiency (under clean conditions).

These properties make depleted uranium (U-238) an excellent material for storing and pumping tritium.

Single wall getter-/ U-beds will suffer after some hundred heating cycles by diffusion of Tritium trapped in the stainless wall to the outside. This is diffusion is not detected at the beginning of the lifetime and use of getter beds. 

It is slowly starting after many heating cycles. In situations where getter beds are very often heated up and no release of even small amounts of Tritium can be accepted, we offer double wall getter-/ U-beds as a safe solution to this diffusion problem.

They consist of a standard U-bed including an electrical heating element with thermocouple and additionally enveloped by a hermetically tight second containment.

The in-between volume can be connected to a Tritium-scrubber system to trap diffused Tritium before reaching the outer containment.

Such double wall Tritium getter beds are available in two designs.

• one way U-bed system (OneW- DW U-bed)
• flow-through U-bed system ( Fl-th-DW-U-bed)

The reduction of unnecessary Tritium release to the environment has never been easier.