SAES ST 909 PILOT SCALE METHANE CRACKING TESTS
Pilot scale (500 gram) SAES St 909 methane cracking tests were conducted to determine material performance for tritium process applications. Tests that ran up to 1400 hours have been performed at 700 C, 202.7 kPa (1520 torr) with a 30 sccm feed of methane, with various impurities, in a 20 vol% hydrogen, balance helium, stream. A 2.5 vol% methane feed was reduced below 30 ppm for 631 hours. A feed of 1.1 vol% methane plus 1.4 vol% carbon dioxide was reduced below 30 ppm for 513 hours. The amount of carbon dioxide gettered by St 909 can be equated to an equivalent amount of methane gettered to estimate a reduced bed life for methane cracking. The effect of 0.4 vol % and 2.1 vol% nitrogen in the feed reduced the time to exceed 30 ppm methane to 362 and 45 hours, respectively, but the nitrogen equivalence to reduced methane gettering capacity was found to be dependent on the nitrogen feed composition. Decreased hydrogen concentrations increased methane getter rates while a drop of 30 C in one bed zone increased methane emissions by over a factor of 30. The impact of gettered nitrogen can be somewhat minimized if the nitrogen feed to the bed has been stopped and sufficient time given to recover the methane cracking rate.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC09-96SR18500
- OSTI ID:
- 910171
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-STI-2007-00140; TRN: US200723%%523
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 8th International Conference on Tritium Science and Technology
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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