Catalytic proton exchange in water distillation for efficient tritiated water clean-up

Hanzhou Liu, Qian Yang, Ni Luan, Lixi Chen, Shuya Zhang, Xing Dai, Aiping Jin, Tianping Wang, Jie Shu, Nannan Shen, Jian Xu, Jia Li, Linwei He, Zhihong Xu, Gen Zhang, Cheng Gu, Hao Yang, Jianyu Chai, Liang Mao, Shikai Guo, Kaiming Liu, Peng Lin, Xiajie Liu, Xiaoping Ouyang, Yuelong Pan, Xueling Zhang, Zhifang Chai and Shuao Wang ()
Additional contact information
Hanzhou Liu: Soochow University
Qian Yang: Soochow University
Ni Luan: Soochow University
Lixi Chen: Soochow University
Shuya Zhang: Soochow University
Xing Dai: Soochow University
Aiping Jin: LCCNNP Nuclear Power Operations Management Co. Ltd
Tianping Wang: Soochow University
Jie Shu: Soochow University
Nannan Shen: Soochow University
Jian Xu: Soochow University
Jia Li: Soochow University
Linwei He: Soochow University
Zhihong Xu: Suzhou Sicui Institute of Isotope Technology
Gen Zhang: Nanjing University of Science and Technology
Cheng Gu: Sichuan University
Hao Yang: C Force Co. Ltd
Jianyu Chai: C Force Co. Ltd
Liang Mao: Nanjing University
Shikai Guo: China National Nuclear Industry Corporation, 404
Kaiming Liu: China National Nuclear Industry Corporation, 404
Peng Lin: China Nuclear Power Technology Research Institute Co. Ltd
Xiajie Liu: China Nuclear Power Technology Research Institute Co. Ltd
Xiaoping Ouyang: Xiangtan University
Yuelong Pan: China Nuclear Power Technology Research Institute Co. Ltd
Xueling Zhang: China Nuclear Power Technology Research Institute Co. Ltd
Zhifang Chai: Soochow University
Shuao Wang: Soochow University

Nature Sustainability, 2025, vol. 8, issue 5, 553-561

Abstract: Abstract Tritiated water emissions from nuclear facilities pose significant environmental risks and threaten the sustainability of nuclear energy. However, deep detritiation remains a major challenge due to the nearly indistinguishable physicochemical properties among water isotopologues. Here we present an efficient hydrogen isotope separation process based on catalytic proton exchange. The unique catalysis-promoted proton-transfer pathway found in a metal–organic framework (MIL-101(Cr)) significantly lowers the isotope exchange energy barrier to a previously unachieved level. Incorporating MIL-101(Cr) into a water distillation (WD) system enables a solid–liquid–gas triphasic mass transfer that overcomes the thermodynamic constraints of traditional WD, which relies on a liquid–gas biphasic isotope exchange. The height equivalent to the theoretical plate of the established WD prototype fell by half compared to the existing WD systems, thus increasing the separation efficiency by over four orders of magnitude in a 10-m distillation tower. This work offers an industrially viable and scalable option for cleaning up tritiated water.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41893-025-01537-5

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