Process development report: 0. 40-m primary burner system. [Spent fuel reprocessing]
Fluidized bed combustion is required in reprocessing the graphite-based fuel elements from high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) cores. This burning process requires combustion of beds containing both large particles and very dense particles, and also of fine graphite particles which elutriate from the bed. This report documents the successful long-term operation of the 0.40-m primary burner in burning crushed fuel elements. The 0.40-m system operation is followed from its first short heatup test in September 1976 to a > 40-h burning campaign that processed 20 LHTGR blocks in September 1977. The 0.40-m perforated conical gas distributor, scaled up from the 0.20-m primary burner, has proven reliable in safely burning even the largest, densest adhered graphite/fuel particle clusters originating from the crushing of loaded fuel elements. Such clusters had never been fed to the 0.20-m system. Efficient combustion of graphite fines using the pressurized recycle technique was demonstrated throughout the long-duration operation required to reduce a high carbon fresh feed bed to a low carbon particle bed. Again, such operation had never been completed on the 0.20-m system from which the 0.40-m burner was scaled. The successful completion of the tests was due, in part, to implementation of significant equipment revisions which were suggested by both the initial 0.40-m system tests and by results of ongoing development work on the 0.2-m primary burner. These revisions included additional penetrations in the burner tube side-wall for above-bed fines recycle, replacement and deletion of several metal bellows with bellows of more reliable design, and improvements in designs for burner alignment and feeder mechanisms. 76 figures, 8 tables.
- Research Organization:
- General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- EY-76-C-03-0167-053
- OSTI ID:
- 6716254
- Report Number(s):
- GA-A-14816; TRN: 78-016032
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
FLUIDIZED-BED COMBUSTORS
OPERATION
HTGR TYPE REACTORS
FUEL CYCLE
SPENT FUEL ELEMENTS
REPROCESSING
CRUSHING
FLUIDIZED-BED COMBUSTION
FUEL PARTICLES
GRAPHITE
BURNERS
CARBON
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMBUSTION
COMBUSTORS
COMMINUTION
ELEMENTS
FUEL ELEMENTS
GAS COOLED REACTORS
GRAPHITE MODERATED REACTORS
NONMETALS
OXIDATION
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTORS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
050800* - Nuclear Fuels- Spent Fuels Reprocessing