FY-2016 Methyl Iodide Higher NOx Adsorption Test Report
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Deep-bed methyl iodide adsorption testing has continued in Fiscal Year 2016 under the Department of Energy (DOE) Fuel Cycle Technology (FCT) Program Offgas Sigma Team to further research and advance the technical maturity of solid sorbents for capturing iodine-129 in off-gas streams during used nuclear fuel reprocessing. Adsorption testing with higher levels of NO (approximately 3,300 ppm) and NO2 (up to about 10,000 ppm) indicate that high efficiency iodine capture by silver aerogel remains possible. Maximum iodine decontamination factors (DFs, or the ratio of iodine flowrate in the sorbent bed inlet gas compared to the iodine flowrate in the outlet gas) exceeded 3,000 until bed breakthrough rapidly decreased the DF levels to as low as about 2, when the adsorption capability was near depletion. After breakthrough, nearly all of the uncaptured iodine that remains in the bed outlet gas stream is no longer in the form of the original methyl iodide. The methyl iodide molecules are cleaved in the sorbent bed, even after iodine adsorption is no longer efficient, so that uncaptured iodine is in the form of iodine species soluble in caustic scrubber solutions, and detected and reported here as diatomic I2. The mass transfer zone depths were estimated at 8 inches, somewhat deeper than the 2-5 inch range estimated for both silver aerogels and silver zeolites in prior deep-bed tests, which had lower NOx levels. The maximum iodine adsorption capacity and silver utilization for these higher NOx tests, at about 5-15% of the original sorbent mass, and about 12-35% of the total silver, respectively, were lower than for trends from prior silver aerogel and silver zeolite tests with lower NOx levels. Additional deep-bed testing and analyses are recommended to expand the database for organic iodide adsorption and increase the technical maturity if iodine adsorption processes.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC07-05ID14517
- OSTI ID:
- 1364509
- Report Number(s):
- INL/EXT-16-40087; TRN: US1703347
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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