LAUSR

Abstract A Pd-Ag membrane reactor has been studied to assess its ability in heavy water decontamination through Isotopic Swamping (IS) and Water Gas Shift (WGS) reactions under different operating conditions (i.e. reactor temperature, lumen pressure, feeding molar ratio and isotopic swamping). The reactor has been installed in a new facility of the ENEA Membrane Laboratory called HyFraMe, by testing two catalysts. The results are reported in terms of decontamination factor or DF (the amount of gaseous deuterium recovered from heavy water). Both catalysts demonstrate, in the WGS reactions, low methane production (1.72 mol% in the worst case) and high DF, almost 80%, at pressure of 400–500 kPa at 623 K. The IS reaction tests exhibited a lower performance (DF = 67% at the best).