Effects of weathering on impregnated charcoal performance. Final report

Technical Report · Tue Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1981

OSTI ID:5486428

Deitz, V R

The useful life of activated carbon filters in engineered safety-feature and normal ventilation systems of nuclear power stations is slowly impaired by the contaminants accumulated from the large volume of air in process. In this study eight commercial impregnated carbons were exposed to unmodified outdoor air at NRL for different periods up to one year and to air flows of known contaminant species and concentrations under controlled laboratory conditions, both followed by measurements of the methyl-iodide-131 penetration. Two of the carbons were exposed to outdoor air at the Argonne National Laboratory and at the Simi Valley Monitoring Station. The test carbons included commercial impregnations of potassium iodide with or without elemental iodine and of tertiary amines, either separately or as co-impregnates. Air flows above 70% RH degrade the carbon efficiency significantly. Also, an adverse synergistic influence of moisture and hydrocarbon vapors has been observed. The entrance layer of test charcoals were found to be most significantly affected by the exposure insult. The gradient in methyl iodide-131 penetration through the bed changes from a simple exponential profile for new carbons to a non-linear exponential profile for weathered and service-aged carbons.

• Research Organization: Naval Research Lab., Washington, DC (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5486428
• Report Number(s): NUREG/CR-2112
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

053000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Environmental Aspects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220200* -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Components & Accessories
500300 -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ACTIVATED CARBON
ADSORBENTS
ADSORPTION
AIR FILTERS
AIR FLOW
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CARBON
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
ELEMENTS
ENGINEERED SAFETY SYSTEMS
EQUIPMENT
EVALUATION
FILTERS
FLUID FLOW
GAS FLOW
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
IODINE 131
IODINE ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
NONMETALS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
PERFORMANCE
POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT
POWER PLANTS
RADIOISOTOPES
SORPTION
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
VENTILATION SYSTEMS
WEATHERING