INVESTIGATION OF LOW-LEVEL TRITIUM GENERATION IN NI-H2O ELECTROLYTIC CELLS

The generation of tritium during the electrolysis of aqueous light wat er alkali carbonate (K2CO3 and Li2CO3) solutions by nickel cathodes, f irst reported by us at the international Conference on Cold Fusion-3 ( Nagoya, Japan, October 1992) has once again been verified and confirme d. During 1993, 10 out of 23 cells, whose electrolytes were analyzed u sing a newly set up dedicated liquid scintillation counting unit, indi cated low tritium levels in the electrolyte, in the range of 0.5 to 4. 8 Bq/ml. Except one cell, which contained 25% D2O, the remaining nine cells, which produced tritium, were charged with natural light water s olutions only. Two of these cells, which were monitored for tritium ev ery few days, and excluding cell OM-3, which was set up in 1992, indic ated tritium level variations in a sawtooth fashion, suggesting the po ssible presence of an as yet unidentified mechanism responsible for pe riodically removing tritium from the electrolyte.