Operational experience with the JET impurity processing system during and after DTE1

The hydrogen-containing gases generated during operation and maintenance of a fusion machine need to be detritiated prior their discharge to the envir onment. The amounts of gaseous impurities with their chemical and isotopic compositions which were decontaminated in the JET impurity processing syste m during and after Deuterium-Tritium Experiment, DTE1, are presented. Two d ifferent techniques for impurities detritiation were tested. The first tech nique is based on catalytic oxidation of hydrogen-containing species follow ed by water decomposition in reaction with uranium at elevated temperature. The second technique is based on direct decomposition of impurities with m olecular hydrogen liberation in reactions with uranium at elevated temperat ures. The results of the impurity detritiation using both techniques are gi ven. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.