Removal of gadolinium nitrate from heavy water

Wilde, E.W.

Savannah River Site (S.C.)

关键词: Removal;    Special Production Reactors;    Decontamination;    Tritium;    Radioactive Waste Processing;   

DOI  :  10.2172/758308
RP-ID  :  WSRC-TR-99-00096
RP-ID  :  AC09-96SR18500
RP-ID  :  758308

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

Work was conducted to develop a cost-effective process to purify 181 55-gallon drums containing spent heavy water moderator (D2O) contaminated with high concentrations of gadolinium nitrate, a chemical used as a neutron poison during former nuclear reactor operations at the Savannah River Site (SRS). These drums also contain low level radioactive contamination, including tritium, which complicates treatment options. Presently, the drums of degraded moderator are being stored on site. It was suggested that a process utilizing biological mechanisms could potentially lower the total cost of heavy water purification by allowing the use of smaller equipment with less product loss and a reduction in the quantity of secondary waste materials produced by the current baseline process (ion exchange).