Graphene-based electrochemical system for tritium enrichment

Abstract

In this study, a tritium enrichment system in the water phase has been developed based on the combination of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis cell and a fuel cell. As the PEM, NafionTM and laboratory-synthesized sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) membranes modified with an additional graphene layer in order to enhance the tritium separation factor were used. Both differences in the kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction and transport through the graphene layer of different isotopes are the driving factors expected to affect the separation of hydrogen isotopes. The separation factor was measured both during the electrolysis and fuel cell stage using different membranes. The facilitating effect of the graphene on the separation efficiency was determined during the study. The separation factor obtained by the proposed method was evidently higher than that obtained by other conventional methods. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd on behalf of the IAEA. All rights reserved. This is an open-access article R.J. Zabolockis, M. Sondars, G. Vaivars, I. Reinholds, V. Gostilo, V. Malgin, A. Kizilov, A. Lescinskis, A. Felsharuk; L. Avotina, A.S. Teimane, E. Sprugis, E. Pajuste Graphene-based electrochemical system for tritium enrichment, Nuclear Fusion, Volume 64, Issue 2 February 2024 Article number 026022, doi: 10.1088/1741-4326/ad1af4 published under the CC BY 4.0 licence.