HTO electrolysis method by using proton exchange membrane fuel cell

The application of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system to electrolysis for HTO recovered from a solid breeder blanket is discussed in this report. The amount of gas permeation through the membrane in this system and the tritium inventory in the membrane were calculated, and it was found that the effect of these phenomena on the performance of electrolysis system can be disregarded. However, the trapped tritium in the membrane will damage the structure of the membrane, and we need to replace it about once every 10 days. This duration is so short that we should prepare other backup plans to convert HTO to HT in the blanket purge gas.