Isotope effects in the equilibrium and non-equilibrium vaporization of tritiated water and ice

The vaporization isotope effect of the HTO/H₂O system has been measured at various temperatures and pressures under equilibrium as well as non-equilibrium conditions. The isotope effect values measured in equilibrium sublimation or distillation are in good agreement with the theoretical values based on the harmonic oscillator model. In non-equilibrium vaporization at low temperatures (< 0°C), the isotope effect decreases rapidly with decreasing system pressure and becomes negligible when the system pressure is lowered more than one tenth of the equilibrium vapor pressure. At higher temperatures, the isotope effect decreases very slowly with decreasing system pressure. Discussion is extended for the application of the present results to the study of biological enrichment of tritium.