Design study of a cryogenic distillation column for hydrogen isotope separation system

•Rigorous model of packed distillation column for hydrogen isotope separation system.•Parametric studies on tritium inventory, total pressure drop, and product quality.•Optimal design minimized tritium inventory under product quality constraints. This paper presents a design study of a cryogenic distillation column for hydrogen isotope separation. The column was modeled as a theoretical equilibrium-based stage column. Thermodynamic properties were evaluated with the Peng–Robinson Twu equation of state model. The liquid holdup and pressure drop of each theoretical stage were modeled with a general packed column model. The models were implemented in an equation-oriented optimization framework. The effects of parameters such as the number of theoretical stages, feed location, diameter, flow rate of the distillate, and condenser duty on the tritium inventory, total pressure drop, and product quality were investigated. An optimal design that minimizes the total amount of tritium in the liquid holdup under a tritium product quality constraint and non-flooding constraints is presented.