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Catalytic Effects of Silver in Iodine Reactors for Dissolved Used Nuclear Fuel

Journal Article · · Nuclear Technology
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  1. Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, South Carolina
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The dissolution of used nuclear fuel generates a variety of off-gasses including flammable hydrogen and other species that are a concern for environmental release. The H-Canyon facility at the Savannah River Site is currently dissolving aluminum-clad research reactor fuel from material test reactors and the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) using a mercury-catalyzed nitric acid flowsheet. Savannah River National Laboratory recently developed and deployed a Raman spectrometer to monitor the off-gas stream from the dissolution process. Results from these measurements indicated a lack of the expected hydrogen, nitrous oxide, and nitric oxide in the off-gas stream. It was proposed that the silver on the silver nitrate–coated berl saddles present in the reactors for iodine capture were acting as a catalytic hydrogen recombiner. Nitric oxide is readily oxidized to nitrogen dioxide under normal conditions, but it was unclear what happened to the nitrous oxide. A laboratory-scale iodine reactor was assembled and filled with silver nitrate–coated berl saddles to help ascertain the fate of nitrous oxide and hydrogen. Testing with this laboratory-scale reactor observed the recombination of hydrogen when a simulated dissolver off-gas was passed through the reactor containing silver nitrate–coated berl saddles at the approximate temperatures seen in H-Canyon. However, the nitrous oxide concentration was unchanged, suggesting a more complex process occurring within the off-gas stream before it reaches the iodine reactors at H-Canyon.
Research Organization:
Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), Aiken, SC (United States); Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Environmental Management (EM)
Grant/Contract Number:
89303321CEM000080
OSTI ID:
1893755
Report Number(s):
SRNL-STI-2022-00133
Journal Information:
Nuclear Technology, Journal Name: Nuclear Technology Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 208; ISSN 0029-5450
Publisher:
Taylor & FrancisCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (10)

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Determination of Nitric Oxide in a Nitric Oxide-Nitrogen System by Gas Chromatography journal January 1961
N Atom Radicals and N2(A3∑u+) Found To Be Responsible for Nitrogen Oxides Conversion in Nonthermal Nitrogen Plasma journal July 2004
Uranium-Aluminum Alloy Dissolution journal January 1957
The Catalytic Synthesis of Water Vapor in Contact with Metallic Silver journal December 1926
Hydrogen Activation on Silver:  A Computational Study on Surface and Subsurface Oxygen Species journal February 2008
Uhde EnviNOx® technology for NOXand N2O abatement: a contribution to reducing emissions from nitric acid plants journal August 2010
Primary Yields and Mechanisms in the Radiolysis of N2O from High Intensity Electron Pulse Irradiations of N2O–O2 Mixtures journal May 1972
Processing of irradiated, enriched uranium fuels at the Savannah River Plant report April 1979

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Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
NOx gases
hydrogen recombination
iodine reaction