The Tritium Purification System (TPS) is a hydrogen isotope separation system put into operation within the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) Tritium Systems. The TPS operates in two stages: extraction of hydrogen isotopes from the TFTR plasma waste effluents via a Palladium/Silver diffuser; and separation of hydrogen isotopes via a multiple-stage cryogenic distillation system.

Commissioning of TPS included: Operational testing at Canadian Fusion Fuels Technology Project (CFFTP) and at Princeton, thorough helium and tritium leakchecks, trial run with a limited tritium inventory (1 kCi), and an integrated systems test using 10 kCi of tritium. The integrated systems test, which was started in April of 1995 took approximately eight months to perform. Several “infant mortality” failures, requiring numerous line breaks into highly contaminated piping, were safely performed. On December 18, 1995 the TPS delivered its first batch of purified tritium product.

This paper provides a brief overview of the TPS design and theory of operation. The focus of this paper is the commissioning, operation, performance and maintenance of the device. Lessons learned in maintenance and repair of the TPS are also addressed.