Abstract: In order to reduce the tritium level in tritium-contaminated waste filter cartridges of Qinsan CANDU NPP, a relevant device needs to be developed to remove and adsorb the tritium contained in the waste filter cartridges, providing a basis for subsequent treatment and disposal of waste filter cartridges. This study established a circulating air/hot air dehumidification experimental device for filter cartridge to simulate tritium removal by dehumidification, and conducted dehumidification and molecular sieve adsorption experiments on filter cartridges with different flow rates (5 m³/h, 10 m³/h, and 15 m³/h) at both normal temperature and heated conditions. Experiment shows that the breakthrough water absorption capacity of the molecular sieve is approximately 0.056 kg/kg, and the saturated water absorption capacity is approximately 0.23 kg/kg. When the measured humidity at the outlet reaches 3%RH, the water absorption rate of the molecular sieve decreases significantly. The experiment provided basic data for the design and operation of the tritium removal device.

Key words: heavy water reactor, wastewater filter cartridge, tritium, treatment and disposal