Engineering topics

Riley, Brian

Publications and source records attributed to Riley, Brian.

4 records

DOE OSTI2023

Alternative Materials Literature Review: A Review of Alternative Materials for Xenon Capture in Comparison to AgZ-PAN

A collaborative literature review between Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Pacific National Laboratory (PNNL) was conducted to research alternative metals/materials for xenon adsorption in gaseous effluents generated from used nuclear fuel (UNF) reprocessing. The review was conducted to research sorbents that could outperform silver mordenite (AgZ) at ambient temperature. The use of silver requires complex and expensive waste disposal processes due to it being an RCRA metal, therefore alternative materials need to be researched and evaluated. The report details two different types of sorbent material: alternative zeolite materials and non-zeolite-based materials (i.e., MOFs, COFs, etc.). This report documents a brief history of the materials, what testing has been conducted on them, and what results suggest the possibility of outperforming the silver-based materials. Sorbent performance characteristics such as durability, capacity, and operating temperatures were evaluated. The simplicity of the sorbents was also evaluated, meaning how they are acquired (synthesized vs. naturally abundant). Recommendations were made for the most promising sorbents based on available research in the subject area and these recommended sorbents will be tested in the upcoming fiscal year. The recommended sorbents that are zeolite based are CHA zeolites, ZIF-69, and Na-ETS-10. The recommended sorbents that are non-zeolite based are SBMOF-1 and CC3.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Cost-Benefit Assessment of Krypton and Xenon Recovery from Aqueous Reprocessing

The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of the cost-benefit of capturing Kr and Xe from the existing process of aqueous reprocessing of UNF. The study accomplishes this with a market assessment of Xe prices and volumes today, coupled with a cost estimate of Kr and Xe capture out of cryogenic distillation within aqueous reprocessing. The market assessment shows that the average price of Xe is about $\$ $60/L while the average price of Kr is about $\$ $1/L. The assessment also shows that the market structure for Xe is one of oligopoly, in other words, very few suppliers to the Xe market. The assessment shows growing demand for Xe, particularly in medical applications like anesthesia. The cost assessment finds the unit cost of Xe to range from $\$ $71.50/L to $\$ $131.13/L. This range is only slightly above the current range of market prices today, and with growing demand for Xe, prices could reach the range it would take to support extraction of Xe from aqueous reprocessing. On the other hand, the estimated cost range for Kr is $\$ $830.15/L up to $\$ $1,522.52/L, which far exceeds the range of market prices for Kr. However, as the text notes, Kr capture is already part of aqueous reprocessing so these costs are sunk costs (already incurred) whereas the cost estimates for Xe are marginal cost (if Xe is desired, then the cost estimate would result from the Xe capture).

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Separated waste stream immobilization of iodine and off-gas caustic scrubber solution (Final Report)

In this work, the approach was to immobilize the CS solution in a glass-bonded composite of cancrinite/sodalite. The synthesis of ceramic waste forms was accomplished by low-temperature (~90°C) processes developed by the team in the framework of a previous NEUP project. By building on our earlier efforts for iodine waste forms, we minimized the schedule and technical risk while still providing novel process demonstrations for the off-gas waste forms. In the case of AgI-based sorbents, a proof-of-concept stripping process was shown to remove iodine from AgI by converting it to NaI(aq) followed by immobilization of these ions in iodosodalite (ISOD), which could be glass-bonded in the same way as for the CS solution cancrinite/sodalite powders.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Molten Salt Reactor Engineering Study for Off-Gas Management

In previous work published by the current team, the waste processing and waste form options were summarized for molten salt reactors (MSR) (Riley et al., 2018b; Riley et al., 2019). The primary types of waste from an MSR are summarized in Figure S1 and include (1) off-gas streams, (2) salt waste streams, (3) separated salt streams, (4) metal waste streams, (5) carbon waste streams, (6) decommissioning and decontaminating (D&D) waste streams, and (7) operating waste streams, or those that are generated from maintenance procedures. The primary focus of this report will be on management of the off-gas stream as it represents the pressure boundary for fuel-salt MSRs and, thus, is required for fission product confinement during reactor operation and reduction of the source term during a reactor accident.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗