Poisoning and saturation of St737 getter alloy in the catalytic conversion of isotopic waters to isotopic hydrogen

The results of the studies performed to investigate the saturation capacity of St 737 getter alloy (Zr[V0.5Fe0.5]2) in its application for conversion of water to hydrogen and the functional behaviour of the conversion reaction rate with large oxygen concentration in the alloy are reported. The experiment was performed with the getter alloy at a temperature of 400-degrees-C. The conversion process was monitored by two independent techniques - (i) by the hydrogen release, using a quadrupole mass spectrometer and (ii) by the quantity of water reduction in liquid phase. It was found that more than 100 mg of water was converted and 13 Pam3 of hydrogen was released by a gram of alloy. A chemical analysis of the alloy performed after the experiment showed that the oxygen content in the alloy was about 7% by weight. The post-experiment diffraction analysis of the alloy showed that the crystalline structure of the alloy is almost completely destroyed and that the oxides formed are essentially amorphous. A brief discussion of the significance of the results for the application to tritiated water handling in future fusion reactions is also given.