INSTALLATION AND EARLY OPERATION OF A COMPLEX LOW INVENTORY CRYOGENICDISTILLATION SYSTEM FOR THE PRINCETON TFTR

A low inventory Tritium Purification System (TPS) has just been instal led at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). The TPS was des igned specifically for PPPL, based on their specifications for exhaust gases. The generic design, however, can easily be modified to accept a large variety of input conditions. The Princeton system is designed to have a total tritium inventory of approximately 0.5 g while produci ng pure product streams consisting of H-2, D-2, and T-2. The purpose o f the system is to separate and recycle unburnt tritium from the TFTR and to produce hydrogen and deuterium streams that are free of tritium . These streams can be disposed by stacking, thus eliminating the need to create large volume waste streams that are contaminated with triti um and that must be managed for permanent disposal. This paper will di scuss the installation, the modifications and preliminary results of o peration of this system at Princeton.