PETROLEUM REFINERY STREAMS AS NUCLEAR REACTOR COOLANTS-RADIO-LYTIC PRODUCT INVESTIGATIONS. Report No. 21
Petroleum refinery stocks of widely varying composition were irradiated with gamma rays (,5 x 10/sup 9/ rads) at 600 deg F and the resulting high boiling products isolated. The objective was to determine how these radiolytic residues compare in solubility, etc., properties with those from radiolyzed terphenyls. Superiority of the refinery stream residues would point to a decreased tendency to plate out'' on heat transfer surfaces and provide an incentive, other than possible make-up cost savings, for using refinery streams as nuclear reactor coolant-moderators. The best refinery materials were found to produce radiolytic residues that were less soluble and more intractable than the radiolytic polymer from terphenyls. These refinery stream residues were also formed at faster rates than was that from terphenyls. Thus, the characteristics of radiolytic polymer from refinery streams are at least as undesirable as those of polyphenyl residues, and the feasibility of employing refinery stocks as reactor coolantmoderators must depend primarily on a balance between unit coolant costs and rate of decomposition. It seems unlikely that the demonstrated pyrolytic and radiolytic instability of the refinery streams relative to polyphenyls can be offset sufficiently by their low unit cost to justify their use. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- California Research Corp., Richmond
- NSA Number:
- NSA-17-039109
- OSTI ID:
- 4634157
- Report Number(s):
- TID-19440
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
CHEMISTRY
COOLANTS
DECOMPOSITION
ECONOMICS
GAMMA RADIATION
HEAT TRANSFER
IRRADIATION
MODERATORS
ORGANIC COOLANT
ORGANIC MODERATOR
PETROLEUM
POLYMERS
POLYPHENYLS
PYROLYSIS
RADIATION CHEMISTRY
RADIATION DOSES
RADIOLYSIS
REACTION KINETICS
REACTORS
REFINING
RESIDUES
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOLUBILITY
STABILITY
SURFACES
TEMPERATURE
TERPHENYLS
VELOCITY