Electrochemical treatment of irradiated nuclear graphite

The paper is dedicated to the issues of accumulation of irradiated reactor graphite and possible options for handling it. There are described the advantages of the electrochemical method of decontamination of radioactive waste widely used in the nuclear industry. The use of this method to reduce the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of nuclear materials 2019-12, Vol.526, p.151759, Article 151759
Main Authors: Bespala, E.V., Antonenko, M.V., Chubreev, D.O., Leonov, A.V., Novoselov, I. Yu, Pavlenko, A.P., Kotov, V.N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cesium 137
Cesium isotopes
Cesium radioisotopes
Chemical treatment
Decontamination
Electrochemical treatment
Electrochemistry
Electrolyzer
Graphite
Hydrogen peroxide
Irradiated graphite
Potassium permanganate
Radioactive contamination
Radioactive pollution
Radioactive wastes
Radioisotopes
Reactors
Sulfuric acid
Uranium-graphite reactor
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Summary:The paper is dedicated to the issues of accumulation of irradiated reactor graphite and possible options for handling it. There are described the advantages of the electrochemical method of decontamination of radioactive waste widely used in the nuclear industry. The use of this method to reduce the potential hazard of irradiated reactor graphite is proposed. The processes occurring during the removal of radioactive contamination from the surface of graphite radioactive waste are described. An experimental setup is presented to assess the possibility of using the method of electrochemical decontamination of irradiated graphite. The results of the determining the electrolyzer current-voltage curve and the dissolution rate of the electrodes made of irradiated graphite are presented. According to the results of experimental studies, data on the decontamination coefficients of irradiated graphite were obtained for various radionuclides (60Co, 137Cs, 154Eu, 152Eu) in HNO3, H2SO4, H2O, H2O2, HNO3 + KMnO4, H2SO4 + KMnO4 under various process modes. The evaluation of temperature fields inside the electrolyzer was carried out. The dependence of the removal efficiency of long-lived 14C radionuclide on the total mass loss of irradiated graphite was obtained. •The principal possibility of decontamination of irradiated graphite by the electrochemical method is shown.•The decontamination coefficients of irradiated graphite with different electrolysis modes are given.•The dependence of the removal efficiency of 14C on the total mass loss of irradiated graphite was obtained.
ISSN:0022-3115
1873-4820
DOI:10.1016/j.jnucmat.2019.151759