Experimental studies on active oxygen control performance of solid PbO mass exchanger in liquid lead–bismuth eutectic loop

• Published in: Annals of nuclear energy 2023-11, Vol.192, p.109977, Article 109977
• Main Authors: Liang, Ruixian, Zhu, Huiping, Sheng, Zhenhua, Li, Xiaobo, Qi, Muran, Wang, Yifeng, Yang, Lingfeng, Tu, Xu, Wu, Hao, Liu, Fang, Guo, Zhangpeng, Lyu, Haicai, Niu, Fenglei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Dissolution rate; Liquid lead–bismuth eutectic; PbO ceramic pellet; PbO mass exchanger; Solid phase oxygen control
• ISSN: 0306-4549
• DOI: 10.1016/j.anucene.2023.109977

•A mass exchanger was designed to develop solid phase oxygen control technology.•The dissolution rates of PbO at various conditions were obtained.•The control of the oxygen concentration was achieved in the LBE loop. The precise control of dissolved oxygen in lead–bismuth eutectic (LBE) reactors is very important. Solid phase oxygen control is a promising solution for regulating dissolved oxygen in the LBE. In order to better develop solid phase control technology, we designed a bypass mass exchanger holding PbO pellets. The dissolved oxygen in the LBE loop was controlled by PbO mass exchanger (PbO MX) technology. PbO MX is composed of a packed bed charging bucket, PbO ceramic pellets and bypass. The oxygen concentration in LBE under different conditions was measured using electrochemical oxygen sensors. The dissolution rate of PbO at different temperatures and flow rates were obtained. The effect of LBE flow rate and temperature parameters on the oxygen supply performance was obtained from the experimental results. The high-precision control of the dissolved oxygen concentration was achieved in the LBE loop.