Cryogenic distillation (CD) of hydrogen in combination with Liquid Phase Catalytic Exchange (LPCE) or Combined Electrolytic Catalytic Exchange (CECE) process is used for tritium removal/recovery from tritiated water. Tritiated water is being obtained after long time operation of CANDU reactors, or in case of ITER mainly by the Detritiation System (DS). The cryogenic distillation system (CDS) used to remove/recover tritium from a hydrogen stream consists of a cascade of cryogenic distillation columns and a refrigeration unit which provides the cooling capacity for the condensers of CD columns. The columns, together with the condensers and the process heat-exchangers are accommodated in a vacuumed cold box. In the particularly case of the ICIT Plant, the cryogenic distillation cascade consists of four columns with diameters between 100–7 mm and it has been designed to process up to 10 mc/h of tritiated deuterium. This paper will present the steps undertaken for construction and commissioning of a pilot plant for tritium removal/recovery by cryogenic distillation of hydrogen. The paper will show besides preliminary data obtained during commissioning, also general characteristics of the plant and its equipments.
