Tritium Removal from Tritiated Water Using Mesoporous Silica

The ability of various solid adsorbents to adsorb tritium from tritiated water was studied. The tritium removability and adsorption ability of mesoporous silica (MCM-41) were found to be larger than those of conventional microporous zeolites such as mordenite (MOR) and Linde-type A (LTA). The different adsorbents can be arranged in order of tritium removability and tritium adsorption ability as follows: MCM-41 > LTA(5A) > high-silica MOR [approximately equal] low-silica MOR [approximately equal] LTA(4A). The adsorbents can also be arranged in decreasing order of the separation factor () as follows: MCM-41 > LTA(5A) > low-silica MOR [approximately equal] LTA(4A) > high-silica MOR.