Hydrogen-tritium getters and their applications

The accumulation of hydrogen is usually an undesired event. Large leaks from hydrogen storage and handling facilities pose explosion hazards. Small amounts of hydrogen that may build up in sealed containers after long storage times can damage internal components. Any tritium leak is an immediate health hazard. Hydrogen scavengers or getters can avert all of these potential problems by irreversibly removing hydrogen from such environments. Early hydrogen getters were metals that, though effective, were sensitive to oxygen. More recent work with crystalline organic materials has yielded formulations that will scavenge hydrogen in the presence or absence of air. They commonly utilize a catalyst to add hydrogen across of carbon-carbon double or triple bond. Because of the instability of organic materials to ionizing radiation, a getter that will be stable after reaction with tritium is a further challenge. We will describe hydrogen getter materials and systems developed at Sandia National Laboratories and at Allied-Signal, Kansas City Division. These materials have the proven ability to scavenge and contain hydrogen and tritium. The technologies are based on the irreversible removal of hydrogen by catalytic hydrogenation of unsaturated organic compounds. 6 refs.