Multicomponent adsorption of radioactive iodine and krypton using ETS-10 supported carbon nano-polyhedrons

Journal Article · Fri Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2016 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society

OSTI ID:23042596

Coldsnow, Kai; Nandanwar, Sachin U; Porter, Austin; Utgikar, Vivek; Astona, D Eric ^[1]; Sabharwall, Piyush ^[2]

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1. Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Drive, Moscow, ID 83844-1021 (United States)
2. Idaho National Laboratory, 2525 Fremont Ave, Idaho Falls, 83402 (United States)

Over 13% of the world's energy demand is supplied by nuclear power plants in 31 countries. This demand is growing; by 2030 the IAEA predicts a 100% increase in the demand for nuclear energy. The increase in nuclear energy production imposes a growing strain on the uranium fuel supply. At current consumption rates the world's supply of uranium is projected to last ∼100 years. Following the IAEA's prediction for increased nuclear energy, uranium supplies will dwindle even more quickly. However, this consequence can be limited as ∼95% of uranium is left in used nuclear fuel (UNF). Reprocessing of UNF will utilize this remaining uranium and extend the lifetime of the world's uranium supply. One of the concerns with nuclear reprocessing is that it frees radionuclides created by the fission of uranium to be released into the atmosphere through off-gas. The major constituents of off-gas include: {sup 85}Kr, {sup 129}I, {sup 14}C, {sup 3}H, and various Xe isotopes. {sup 85}Kr and {sup 129}I present the largest threat due to their harmful environmental effects and abundance. They are the most practical contaminants to be removed to meet requirements for radionuclide release. Removal of these contaminants has been a challenge since the 1950's, and several methods including cryogenic distillation, fluorocarbon absorption, wet scrubbing, and adsorption have been employed. Currently, adsorption on porous solid sorbents shows the most promising results. Until now, several sorbents such as silver impregnated mordenite, silver Engelhard titanosilicate 10, chalcogen based aerogels, and metal organic framework, MOFs have been investigated for this purpose. Despite these advances, development of economical and highly active sorbents for complete removal and immobilization of volatile radioactive gases remains a key challenge in realizing advanced fuel cycles. This work is focused on the multicomponent of {sup 85}Kr and {sup 129}I from a simulated off-gas with an Engelhard titanosilicate 10 (ETS-10) supported carbon nano-polyhedron sorbent. Adsorption studies were performed to determine iodine sorption capacity as a function of temperature and iodine inlet concentration. (authors)

• OSTI ID: 23042596
• Journal Information: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society Vol. 115; ISSN 0003-018X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEAR CHEMISTRY
ABSORPTION
ADSORPTION
CHALCOGENIDES
CONSUMPTION RATES
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
FISSION
FUEL CYCLE
IODINE 129
KRYPTON 85
NUCLEAR FUELS
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
ORGANOMETALLIC COMPOUNDS
POROUS MATERIALS
REPROCESSING
SILVER
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
TITANIUM SILICATES
TRITIUM
URANIUM
XENON ISOTOPES