Carbolite MTT Carbon-14 and Tritium Furnace- Model MTT 12/38/850. Uses combustion to capture Carbon-14 and organically bound tritium or fixed tritium- present in concretes, steels and graphites aswell as free water.
The Apparatus technique combusts the sample to completion, assisted by a suitable catalyst, and selectively traps the chief combustion products, namely carbon dioxide and water. The concentration of the Carbon-14 and tritium (tritiated water) in the trapping agents can then be assessed by liquid scintillation counting and the sample tritium and Carbon-14 concentrations can be calculated. The process provides complete combustion compared to wet oxidation techniques and scintillation media is not discoloured by botanical samples.
Tritium (as tritiated water) and Carbon-14 are discharged during Nuclear operations and for decommissioning and storage, both are on the NIREX priority list of notifiable radionuclides. Establishing the need to check the material environment for these two nuclides.
The furnace was developed in partnership with AEA Technology. A two zone tube furnace with a maximum temperature of 1200C, heated length is 850mm. Supplied with a 3508P1 20 segment programmable controller, allowing the input of sample specific combustion protocols. RS485 communications included.
Standard Features
- Up to 20ml sample capacity
- Two Quartz Glass Work Tube Assemblies
- Six Combustion Boats
- Three Sets of Glass Bubblers (four in each set)
- No plastic or rubber components into which tritium can migrate
- Connectors include the molecular sieve waste aerosol trap
- Unique catalyst optimisation manifold
- Six copper wire catalysts
- Over-temperature protection
- Eurotherm iTools allows software storage & retrieval of specific sample protocols
- Tubes can be replaced not integral & associated glassware
- Gas bubblers and associated connectors are made from glass allowing easy decontamination
- Remote operation is possible by computer even in zoned areas. Multiple furnaces can run from one PC each running a different protocol
Options
- Bubblers (sets of 4)
- Combustion boats (sets of 6)
- Work tubes
- Copper catalyst (sets of 3)
