The Importance of Metal Oxides on the Reaction Between Oxygen and Tritium on Stainless Steel

To evaluate tritium oxidation as a means of converting permeating tritium to tritiated water on stainless steel, two series of experiments were done in which the tritiated water yield was determined. The first examined the effect of a reduced tritium permeation rate; the second examined the effect of the presence of different metal oxides. A reduced tritium permeation rate reduced the yield of tritiated water. The presence of Fe₃O₄ resulted in an increased tritiated water yield, >99% at 500 ppm oxygen. The Fe₃O₄ was the iron species on a metal oxide composed of large islands, heavily enriched in iron, uniformly scattered across a fine surface oxide that was enriched in chromium.