Helium purification system as a part of the HTHL and helium purification methods for future HTR or GFR reactors was tested in the series of experiments. The experiments were aimed (among others) to operation of CuO unit, which is part of the helium purification system. This unit is used for converting some minor impurities in helium coolant (namely H2 and CO) to compounds, which can be easily removed on molecular sieve adsorbents (H2O, CO2).
The CuO oxidation capabilities were tested at several temperatures (100, 150, 200 and 250°C) for helium containing different impurities. Final oxidation products were removed by molecular sieves after stabilization of gas composition inside the HTHL. The CuO oxidizer bed showed good performance in H2 and CO oxidation. The overall oxidation efficiency is highly dependable on CuO bed temperature.
