RUTHENIUM BEHAVIOR IN A NITRIC ACID SCRUBBER
With nitrate-containing fission product wastes are may be volatile. If a device such as an air - fluidized bed calciner is used, an off-gas sires of air, oxides of nitrogen, and water is produced which may contain volatile ruthenium as the tetroxide. The chemical aspects of the scrubbing of ruthenium from such a gas stream have been studied using both a bench scale scrubber and an equilibrium still to define the pertinent vapor-liquid equilibria. The effects of ruthenium species, ruthenium and nitric acid concentration, temperature, and air flow on the equilibria have been defined. The operation of tbe bench scale scrubber is described as well as the relationship between the scrubber op-erating parameters, the -vapor-liquld equilibrium values, and the maximum deconamination factor obtainable. In agreement with related ruthenium volatilily data in boiling nitric acid solutions, the scrubber vapor-liquid equilibria show a sharp break in ruthenium volatility at a liquid phase concentration of 10M nitric acid. At lower acid concentration fairly effective ruthenium removal may be predicated. By assuming ideal solutions the portion of the liquid phase ruthenium present as the tetroxide may be calculated. This value appears to be about 1 percent at 80 C in less than 10M nitric acid but rises to essentially 100 percent in 12M acid. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- Phillips Petroleum Co. Atomic Energy Div., Idaho Falls, IDaho
- DOE Contract Number:
- AT(10-1)-205
- NSA Number:
- NSA-13-000537
- OSTI ID:
- 4332574
- Report Number(s):
- IDO-14448
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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