Tritium effluent control project progress report, July--September 1975. [Tritiated liquid waste decontamination by molecular excitation, electrolysis of high-level tritiated water, and catalytic exchange detritiation studies]

Technical Report · Fri Mar 19 04:00:00 EST 1976

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/7196258· OSTI ID:7196258

Kershner, C. J.; Bixel, J. C.

In the Tritiated Liquid Waste Decontamination (Molecular Excitation) program, it was found that a 1/4'' Nd:YAG amplifier and a Faraday rotator isolator must be added to the oscillator to obtain the required power for the laser excitation experiments. The isotopic selectivity of the two-photon dissociation process was examined in more detail. The selectivity or ratio of HTO to H/sub 2/O molecules that are photodissociated was found to be on the order of 25, which is inadequate for application to large-scale detritiation projects, e.g., nuclear fuel reprocessing plant waste. The selectivity is such that most of the laser energy is wasted in photodissociation of H/sub 2/O. This obstacle may be overcome by pumping more vibrational energy into the HTO molecules. Various schemes towards this end are being considered. Extensive ab initio calculations on the potential surface for the hydrogen atom-water exchange reaction have been carried out. The energy barrier is calculated to be 38 1/2 kcal/mole, which implies that the exchange reaction T + H/sub 2/O ..-->.. HTO + H is at least 10/sup 9/ times slower than the exchange reaction T + H/sub 2/ ..-->.. HT + H. Calculations were also performed on the analogous hydrogen atom-hydrogen fluoride exchange reaction. In lieu of other disposal methods a system using a General Electric UCT-1 regenerative cell has been assembled and tested. This system should be capable of decomposing pure water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. The tritium from this process can be purified and reused instead of buried. A preliminary economic evaluation was made of the HT/H/sub 2/O catalytic exchange detritiation stripping process as it might apply to a 5 metric ton/day nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. A tritiated water shipping container has been designed and developed for use with the ERDA--DOT approved AL--MI secondary container.

• Research Organization: Mound Lab., Miamisburg, Ohio (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: E(33-1)-GEN-53
• OSTI ID: 7196258
• Report Number(s): MLM-2288
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CLEANING
DECONTAMINATION
ELECTROLYSIS
HEAVY WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
ISOTOPIC EXCHANGE
LABELLED COMPOUNDS
LIGHT NUCLEI
LIQUID WASTES
LYSIS
MANAGEMENT
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
TRITIUM
TRITIUM COMPOUNDS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES
WATER
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES