The design of an automated electrolytic enrichment apparatus for tritium
The Radiation Analytical Sciences Section at Laboratory at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory performs analysis of low-level tritium concentrations in various natural water samples from the Tri-Valley Area, DOE Nevada Test Site, Site 300 in Tracy, CA, and other various places around the world. Low levels of tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, which is pre-concentrated in the RAS laboratory using an electrolytic enrichment apparatus. Later these enriched waters are analyzed by liquid scintillation counting to determine the activity of tritium. The enrichment procedure and the subsequent purification process by vacuum distillation are currently undertaken manually, hence being highly labor-intensive. The whole process typically takes about 2 to 3 weeks to complete a batch of 30 samples, with a dedicated personnel operating the process. The goal is to automate the entire process, specifically having the operation PC-LabVIEW{trademark} controlled with real-time monitoring capability. My involvement was in the design and fabrication of a prototypical automated electrolytic enrichment cell. Work will be done on optimizing the electrolytic process by assessing the different parameters of the enrichment procedure. Hardware and software development have also been an integral component of this project.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 96644
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-ID-114972-3; ON: DE95009444; TRN: 95:004626-0014
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Dec 1994; Related Information: Is Part Of SERS internship: Fall 1994 abstracts and research papers; Goldman, B.; PB: 352 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
SERS internship: Fall 1994 abstracts and research papers
CORRECTIONS TO BE APPLIED TO THE ELECTROLYTIC ENRICHMENT FACTOR OF DEUTERIUM AND TRITIUM WHEN WATER IS BEING LOST FROM THE CELL BY ENTRAINMENT AND BY EVAPORATION
Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
99 MATHEMATICS
COMPUTERS
INFORMATION SCIENCE
MANAGEMENT
LAW
MISCELLANEOUS
ELECTROLYSIS
AUTOMATION
TRITIUM OXIDES
DISTILLATION
TRITIUM
VACUUM DISTILLATION
COMPUTERIZED CONTROL SYSTEMS
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
LABORATORIES
SCINTILLATION COUNTING
RELIABILITY
QUALITY CONTROL
GROUND WATER
SURFACE WATERS