Experimental assessment of the ITER cryosorption pump high temperature regeneration

The ITER sorption cryopumps will see different regeneration stages, one of them being a high temperature regeneration step to release quantitatively all water-like substances with strong sorption bonding forces to the activated charcoal sorbent used in the pumps. Tests have been made in the TIMO test bed at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe with a model of the ITER torus cryopump to investigate the conditions needed to meet this requirement. It is shown that 470 K is a ‘one for all’ temperature level believed to regenerate from all species expected to be seen from the ITER cryopumps, including hydrocarbons. For only water regeneration, which will be the most important case, the establishment of low pressures at up to maximum 400 K is an alternative option.