Tritium in water electrolytic enrichment and liquid scintillation counting

A batch of electrolysis cells was developed for tritium in water samples enrichment by at least a factor 10. The cell batch is controlled by a pre-programmable electronic system that interrupts the current through any cell when the planned electrolyte volume is attained. A starting and a final distillation of water samples are carried out before and after the electrolytic enrichment. Both distillations are made to dryness in order to avoid isotopic fractionation. A second electrolysis step allowed the tritium enrichment factor (EFT) to be doubled. The EFT was calculated by means of the deuterium enrichment factor (EFD) that was measured by mass spectrometry. The EFT was also measured by liquid scintillation counting. The calculated and measured EFT values were found in good agreement, especially for samples with significant tritium content. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.