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The invention provides a novel filtration apparatus for the selective separation of metals from a mixture thereof. The invention also provides a method for the separation and isolation of metals from a sample using electrochemical precipitation.
Production of oxidized aromatic monomers from lignin has been an intriguing process for decades, but widespread implementation has been inhibited by the high hydroxide:lignin ratios required for significant aldehyde yields. The high hydroxide loading in most scenarios renders the process uneconomical even for high-value products such as vanillin. In this work, we explore alkaline oxidation of a lignin-rich enzymatic hydrolysis residue isolated from corn stover, using alkaline earth metal hydroxides, such as Sr(OH)2 and Ba(OH)2 as base promoters. These materials are soluble at reaction temperature, but mostly insoluble at room temperature, allowing recovery and reuse by simple filtration. We show that monomer yields and profiles using these bases is similar to that obtained using NaOH as base, and that Sr(OH)2 can be recovered in yields above 90%. Preliminary TEA and LCA suggest that replacing NaOH with Sr(OH)2 can decrease monomer production costs by 40% and decrease global warming potential in lignin depolymerization by 30%, enabling a more economical and sustainable process.
Production of oxidized aromatic monomers from lignin has been an intriguing process for decades, but widespread implementation has been inhibited by the high hydroxide:lignin ratios required for significant aldehyde yields. The high hydroxide loading in most scenarios renders the process uneconomical even for high-value products such as vanillin. In this work, we explore alkaline oxidation of a lignin-rich enzymatic hydrolysis residue isolated from corn stover, using alkaline earth metal hydroxides, such as Sr(OH)2 and Ba(OH)2 as base promoters. These materials are soluble at reaction temperature, but mostly insoluble at room temperature, allowing recovery and reuse by simple filtration. We show that monomer yields and profiles using these bases is similar to that obtained using NaOH as base, and that Sr(OH)2 can be recovered in yields above 90%. Preliminary TEA and LCA suggest that replacing NaOH with Sr(OH)2 can decrease monomer production costs by 40% and decrease global warming potential in lignin depolymerization by 30%, enabling a more economical and sustainable process.
This task focuses on the development of adsorption-based in situ product recovery (ISPR) integrated with simulated moving bed chromatography for the recovery and purification of carboxylate products that are relevant to BETO. ISPR has been pursued previously in the Separations Consortium to recover carboxylic acids near or below their pKa values with liquid-liquid extraction coupled to downstream distillation. However, there are many acid products in the BETO portfolio that require neutralization well above their pKa values wherein ISPR could still be a major benefit to the bioprocess performance, including muconic acid, beta-ketoadipic acid, 3-hydroxypropionic acid, itaconic acid, butyric acid, and others. In this task, we are combining dynamic filtration with a rotating ceramic disk, resin capacity measurements, tailored resin synthesis, and simulated moving bed chromatography into an ISPR system that can be used to recover BETO-relevant carboxylates from bioreactor cultivations. We are working across process scales and using computational modeling where applicable alongside techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment to understand major cost, energy, and GHG emissions drivers. The impact of this project will be a bench-scale integrated approach to recover carboxylate products in situ, which will reduce the waste generation from biological carboxylate production processes and improve the productivities of biological systems.
The Continuous Enzymatic Hydrolysis Development (CEHD) project aims to reduce the cost and commercialization risks of Gen2 biorefinery sugar/lignin/ethanol production through development of a deployable continuous enzymatic hydrolysis process. Recent changes in the technical landscape of commercial enzymatic hydrolysis of Gen2 pretreated biomass dictate that the existing hybrid SSF approach be reconsidered. Most importantly, the current practice of "finishing hydrolysis" in SSF must be abandoned due to the fact that new cellulase/hemicellulose formulations from Novozymes, now the sole supplier of commercial Gen2 enzymes in North America, are now not rated for SSF (see NZ CTec3HS product bulletin). We have recently developed bench scale CEH tools to optimize saccharification of DMR pretreated biomass where, unlike SSF with yeast or Zymomonas, the pH, temperature, oxygen tension, LPMO mediator concentration, and/or removal of end-product inhibitors can be precisely controlled. In scale up, the goal is to use existing commercial cross flow ceramic membrane filtration external loops coupled to enzymatic hydrolysis (EH) reactors. Pretreated biomass solids and enzymes are retained for reaction while solubilized product sugars are removed in situ, with high extents of conversion and longer enzyme lifetimes achieved through a series of reactor-membrane unit stages. The CEHD project is focused on advancing CEH as a transformational, process-intensified, lower-cost method for producing soluble clarified biomass sugars and insoluble lignin-rich streams.
A filter includes a filter outer wall, and a filter inner wall spaced apart from the filter outer wall. The filter inner wall and the filter outer wall define a filter void therebetween, and the filter inner wall and the filter outer wall extend along a filter axis. A volume of filtration material is positioned in the filter void, and a plurality of baffles extend between the filter inner wall and the filter outer wall. The plurality of baffles are configured to induce a helical component to an airflow entering the filter void at a first void end relative to the filter axis and exiting the filter void at a second void end opposite the first void end.
Algae harvesting and cultivating systems and methods for producing high concentrations of algae product with minimal energy. In an embodiment, a dead-end filtration system and method includes at least one tank and a plurality hollow fiber membranes positioned in the at least one tank. An algae medium is pulled through the hollow fiber membranes such that a retentate and a permeate are produced.
Local measurements of gas- and liquid-phase flow parameters are conducted in an air-water two-phase flow loop. The test section is a vertical pipe with an inner diameter of 50 mm and a height of 3.2 m. The measurements are performed at z/D = 10. The gas-phase measurements are performed using a four-sensor conductivity probe. The data taken from this probe are processed using a signal processing program to yield radial profiles of the void fraction, bubble velocity, and interfacial area concentration. The velocity measurements of the liquid-phase are performed using a state-of-the-art Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system. The raw PIV images are acquired using fluorescent particles and an optical filtration device. Image processing is used to remove noise in the raw PIV images. The statistical cross correlation is introduced to determine the axial velocity field and turbulence intensity of the liquid-phase. Measurements are currently being performed at z/D = 32 to provide a more complete data set. These data can be used for computational fluid dynamic model development and validation. (authors)
Kurion, Inc., in partnership with AMEC Ltd., is demonstrating its GeoMelt{sup R} In-Container Vitrification (ICV){sup TM} Technology to Sellafield Ltd. (SL). SL is evaluating the proposition of directly converting a container (skip/box/drum) of raw solid ILW into an immobilized waste form using thermal treatment, such that the resulting product is suitable for interim storage at Sellafield and subsequent disposal at a future Geological Disposal Facility. Potential SL feed streams include sludges, ion-exchange media, sand, plutonium contaminated material, concrete, uranium, fuel cladding, soils, metals, and decommissioning wastes. The solid wastes have significant proportions of metallic constituents in the form of containers, plant equipment, structural material and swarf arising from the nuclear operations at Sellafield. GeoMelt's proprietary ICV process was selected for demonstration, with the focus being high and reactive metal wastes arising from solid ILW material. A composite surrogate recipe was used to demonstrate the technology towards treating waste forms of diverse types and shapes, as well as those considered difficult to process; all the while requiring few (if any) pre-treatment activities. Key strategic objectives, along with their success criterion, were established by SL for this testing, namely: 1. Passivate and stabilize the raw waste simulant, as demonstrated by the entire quantity of material being vitrified, 2. Immobilize the radiological and chemo-toxic species, as demonstrated via indicative mass balance using elemental analyses from an array of samples, 3. Production of an inert and durable product as evidenced by transformation of reactive metals to their inert oxide forms and satisfactory leachability results using PCT testing. Two tests were performed using the GeoMelt Demonstration Unit located at AMEC's Birchwood Park Facilities in the UK. Post-melt examination of the first test indicated some of the waste simulant had not fully processed, due to insufficient processing time and melt temperature. A second test, incorporating operational experience from the first test, was performed and resulted in all of the 138 kg of feed material being treated. The waste simulant portion, at 41 kg, constituted 30 wt% of the total feed mass, with over 90% of this being made up of various reactive and non-reactive metals. The 95 liters of staged material was volume reduced to 41 liters, providing a 57% overall feed to product volume reduction in a fully passivated two-phase glass/metal product. The GeoMelt equipment operated as designed, vitrifying the entire batch of waste simulant. Post-melt analytical testing verified that 91-99+% of the radiological tracer metals were uniformly distributed within the glass/cast refractory/metal product, and the remaining fraction was captured in the offgas filtration systems. PCT testing of the glass and inner refractory liner showed leachability results that outperform the DOE regulatory limit of 2 g/m{sup 2} for the radiological species of interest (Sr, Ru, Cs, Eu, Re), and by more than an order of magnitude better for standard reference analytes (B, Na, Si). (authors)
In February 2009, Siempelkamp Nukleartechnik GmbH was awarded the contract for the design, manufacture, delivery and construction of a new Decontamination Facility in the controlled area for Kruemmel NPP. The new decontamination equipment has been installed according to the state of art of Kruemmel NPP. The existing space required the following modification, retrofitting and reconstruction works: - Demounting of the existing installation: to create space for the new facility it was necessary to dismantle the old facility. The concrete walls and ceilings were cut into sizes of no more than 400 kg for ease of handling. This enabled decontamination so largest possible amount could be released for recycling. All steel parts were cut into sizes fitting for iron-barred boxes, respecting the requirement to render the parts decontaminable and releasable. - Reconstructing a decontamination facility: Reconstruction of a decontamination box with separate air lock as access area for the decontamination of components and assemblies was conducted using pressurized air with abrasives (glass beads or steel shots). The walls were equipped with sound protection, the inner walls were welded gap-free to prevent the emergence of interstices and were equipped with changeable wear and tear curtains. Abrasive processing unit positioned underneath the dry blasting box adjacent to the two discharge hoppers. A switch has been installed for the separation of the glass beads and the steel shot. The glass beads are directed into a 200 l drum for the disposal. The steel shot was cleaned using a separator. The cleaned steel shot was routed via transportation devices to the storage container, making it available for further blasting operations. A decontamination box with separate air lock as access area for the decontamination of components and assemblies using high pressure water technology was provided by new construction. Water pressures between 160 bar and 800 bar can be selected. The inner walls are welded gap-free and all rough edges are rounded off. All wetted parts are steel grade 1.4301 or higher. In an extension to the high pressure water decontamination box, 2 ultrasonic ponds and one washing station for small components as provide by new construction. A long pond with 3.25 m length for the decontamination of large components (e.g. turbine blades, pump rotors, driving rods) was installed. For the handling heavy components, a 2 t crane was installed. New construction of a mechanical effluent treatment facility including oil separator was connected to the existing effluent storage tank provided by the customer. One exhaust air filtration system is provided for each decontamination box, with the following requirements. The exhaust air is sent back to the room (recirculated air system). Dry blasting box including raw separator with dust collection in 200 l drum, filter for suspended particles; High pressure water decontamination box and wet area with water separator, pre-separator, filter for suspended particles. Installation of a steel platform at building height +12.85 above the decontamination boxes + 8.50 m for the erection of the high pressure water facilities, the recirculating air filter system, the air compressor and the respiratory air supply unit. The aforementioned components are placed on the steel platform and have been encased in a sound-lowering and accessible manner. New construction of the entire E and C technology for the TU system including modification of the supply lines from the switch gear. All devices are to be operated automatically. Dry blasting box, high pressure water decontamination box and wet area are designed to guarantee a unitary 'exterior view' of the decontamination facility. (authors)
Algae harvesting and cultivating systems and methods for producing high concentrations of algae product with minimal energy. In an embodiment, a dead-end filtration system and method includes at least one tank and a plurality hollow fiber membranes positioned in the at least one tank. An algae medium is pulled through the hollow fiber membranes such that a retentate and a permeate are produced.
On June 28, 2012, CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC) completed the construction and acceptance testing for a new 2,500 gallon-per-minute (gpm) pump-and-treat (P and T) system in the 200 West Area of the Hanford Site in Washington State. This system is designed to remove Tc-99, carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethene (TCE), nitrate, and total and hexavalent chromium from groundwater using ion exchange, anoxic and aerobic bioreactors, and air stripping. The system will eventually remove uranium from groundwater using ion exchange as well. The startup of the P and T system is important because it will ensure that contaminants from the 200 West Area never reach the Columbia River. When fully operational, the 200 West P and T will include approximately 23 extraction wells and 21 injection wells. The extraction wells are 8 inches in diameter, are completed with well screens 100 feet or more in length, and are distributed throughout the central portion of the 5-square-mile carbon tetrachloride plume. The injection wells are also 8 inches in diameter and are installed up-gradient of the plumes to recharge the aquifer and down-gradient of the plumes for flow-path control. Groundwater in the 200 West Area is approximately 250 feet below ground surface, and the aquifer is 200 feet or more in thickness. All of the contaminants (except nitrate) are found within the perimeter of the carbon tetrachloride plume and occur at various depths throughout the aquifer. The 200 West P and T consists of two separate buildings to conduct groundwater treatment. The RAD building contains an ion exchange system to remove Tc-99 from groundwater at a maximum flow rate of 600 gpm. The RAD building only accepts water from those extraction wells showing elevated Tc-99 concentrations. Groundwater initially fills an influent tank, is then pumped through particulate filters (to remove suspended materials), and then passes through two parallel treatment trains containing Purolite{sup R} A530E resin (which has been proven effective in removing Tc-99). The water is then transferred to the biological treatment building for further treatment. When the lead vessel in each of the two treatment trains becomes fully loaded with Tc-99, the Purolite A530E resin is transferred to a separate tank where it is heated to 160 deg. F to remove volatile organics prior to disposal at the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility. The biological treatment building has a maximum flow capacity of 2,500 gpm. Groundwater from the nonradiological extraction wells and treated groundwater from the RAD building are initially pumped into an equalization tank and then into two parallel fluidized bed reactors (FBRs). The FBRs contain granulated activated carbon in suspension for microbes to populate, a carbon-based food source for the microbes to eat (e.g., MicroCg{sup TM}, molasses, or sodium lactate), and nitrate for the microbes to breathe (represents 'anoxic' conditions that contain little or no dissolved oxygen). The FBRs are maintained at a temperature between 55 deg. F and 90 deg. F, and at a pH between 6.5 and 6.8, to maximize microbial growth. The FBRs break down the nitrate, reduce the hexavalent chromium to trivalent chromium, and break down a good portion of the carbon tetrachloride and TCE. From the FBRs, groundwater is pumped through a carbon separation tank, then through a splitter box that divides the water evenly between four membrane bioreactors (MBRs) that further break down the contaminants. The MBRs have aeration capacity to provide sufficient oxygen for maintaining the aerobic biological process. The MBRs use submerged membranes for filtration. Vertically strung fibers are found in the membrane zone where a vacuum draws water through tiny pores in the fibers. The liquid is then pumped to air strippers to remove any volatile organics that have passed through the bioreactors. Solids from the MBRs are pumped to rotary drum thickeners and centrifuges for dewatering prior to lime being added to kill the bacteria and control odor. The conditioned sludge is then disposed at the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility. The final treated water is then pumped to the injection well field. The 200 West P and T is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold-certified facility that has an expected 70% energy cost savings over the lifetime of the plant. Fifty percent of the steel used in construction was recycled, 420 tons of recycled concrete were used, and over 75% of construction waste was diverted from landfills. The plant is only staffed one shift per day, and it uses a call-out system if the plant goes down during off-shift hours. Initial sampling results have shown that the 200 West P and T is successfully reducing contaminant levels well below the cleanup levels specified in the Record of Decision, Hanford 200 Area 200-ZP-1 Superfund Site, Benton County, Washington [1]. CHPRC and the U.S. Department of Energy are continuing to look for ways to reduce operational costs, such as testing alternative resins for removing radionuclides and finding less expensive carbon substrate sources. The benefit to others is a LEED gold-certified, 2,500 gpm P and T system that may be used as a model for other complex sites. (authors)
Since 2004, AREVA's subsidiary SICN has been conducting the cleanup and dismantling of an old uranium foundry located in the town of Annecy (France). The first operations consisted in the removal of the foundry's production equipment, producing more than 300 metric tons (MT) of waste. The second step consisted in performing the radiological characterization of the 1,600 m{sup 2} (17,200 ft{sup 2}) building, including underground trenches and galleries. The building was precisely inventoried, based on operations records and direct measurements. All sub-surfaces, which needed to be cleaned up were characterized, and a determination of the contamination migration was established, in particular with trenches and galleries. The wall thicknesses to be treated were empirically justified, knowing that the maximal migration depth inside concrete is 5 mm for a liquid transfer vector. All singularities such as cracks, anchoring points, etc. were spotted for a complete and systematic treatment. Building structures not laying directly on the soil, such as floor slabs, were not cleaned up but directly deconstructed and disposed of as waste. The facility was located within the town of Annecy. Therefore, in order to avoid the risk of dusts dispersion and public exposure during the building deconstruction and the soil treatment, a third of the building's surface was confined in a sliding airlock built from a metal structure capable of resisting to wind and snow, which are frequent in this area. This particular structure provided a static confinement over the half of the building which was covered and a dynamic confinement using a ventilation and high efficiency air filtration system, sized to provide 2.5 air changes per hour. The enclosure and its metallic structure is 33 m long (108 feet), 25 m wide (82 feet), and 13 m high (42 feet), for a volume of 10,000 m{sup 3} (353,000 ft{sup 3}). It was made up of a double skin envelope, allowing the recycling of its structure and outside envelope. After cleaning up and dismantling the first portion of the building, the enclosure was repositioned on the second and the last third of the building, by sliding it on support pads. Almost 7,000 m{sup 2} of concrete surface has been treated with no dust dispersion outside the enclosure. After treatment, all the remaining surfaces were controlled by an independent entity to verify their acceptability with regards to residual contamination (less than 0.4 Bq/cm{sup 2} (24 DPM) for alpha contamination and less than 1 Bq/g of total uranium). Approximately 1,900 MT of equipment and waste were generated in batches of 1m{sup 3}, in order to be staged on site, and then characterized and packaged in 20 foot containers for shipment to the final ANDRA repository. The package certification included the verification of the physical and chemical characteristics and the radiological characteristics (mass activity, dose rate, and residual outside surface contamination). Finally, after cleanup and dismantling of the foundry, a concrete slab was poured on the free surface as a clean base for implementation of new activities. (authors)
Manmade chemical and radioactive contamination of groundwater is one of damaging effects of the uranium mining and milling facilities. Groundwater contamination is of special importance for the area of Priargun Production Mining and Chemical Association, JSC 'PPMCA', because groundwater is the only source of drinking water. The paper describes natural conditions of the site, provides information on changes of near-surface area since the beginning of the company, illustrates the main trends of contaminators migration and assesses manmade impact on the quality and mode of near-surface and ground waters. The paper also provides the results of chemical and radioactive measurements in groundwater at various distances from the sources of manmade contamination to the drinking water supply areas. We show that development of deposits, mine water discharge, leakages from tailing dams and cinder storage facility changed general hydro-chemical balance of the area, contributed to new (overlaid) aureoles and flows of scattering paragenetic uranium elements, which are much smaller in comparison with natural ones. However, increasing flow of groundwater stream at the mouth of Sukhoi Urulyungui due to technological water infiltration, mixing of natural water with filtration streams from industrial reservoirs and sites, containing elevated (relative to natural background) levels of sulfate-, hydro-carbonate and carbonate- ions, led to the development and moving of the uranium contamination aureole from the undeveloped field 'Polevoye' to the water inlet area. The aureole front crossed the southern border of water inlet of drinking purpose. The qualitative composition of groundwater, especially in the southern part of water inlet, steadily changes for the worse. The current Russian intervention levels of gross alpha activity and of some natural radionuclides including {sup 222}Rn are in excess in drinking water; regulations for fluorine and manganese concentrations are also in excess. Possible ways to improve the situation are considered. (authors)
Ion exchange using the Spherical Resorcinol-Formaldehyde (SRF) resin has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of River Protection for use in the Pretreatment Facility of the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) and for potential application in an at-tank deployment for removing Cs-137. Recent proposed changes to the WTP ion exchange process baseline indicate that higher temperatures (50 deg. C) to alleviate post-filtration precipitation issues prior to reaching the ion exchange columns may be required. Therefore, it is important to understand the behavior of SRF resin performance under the conditions expected with the new equipment and process changes. This research examined the impact of elevated temperature on resin loading and resin degradation during extended solution flow at elevated temperature (45 deg., 50 deg., 55 deg., 60 deg., 65 deg., 75 deg. C). Testing for extended times at elevated temperatures showed that the resin does degrade and loading capacity is reduced at and above 45 deg. C. Above 60 deg. C the resin appears to not load at all. It was observed that the resin disintegrated at 75 deg. C until not much was left and partially disintegrated at 65 deg. C, which caused the column to plug in both tests after ∼336 hours. The results indicate that WTP will lose resin loading capacity if the ion exchange process is performed above 25 deg. C, and the resin will disintegrate above 65 deg. C. Therefore, WTP will have a restricted operating range of temperatures to perform the ion exchange process with this resin. PNNL and WTP are currently evaluating the operating limits of the resin in further detail. Aging in 0.5 M HNO{sub 3} also caused the resin to lose capacity above 25 deg. C and to completely dissolve at 55 deg. C. Again, WTP will have a restricted operating range of temperatures when eluting the resin with nitric acid in order to maintain resin loading capacity and avoid disintegration of the resin. (authors)
In 2009, WAK Decommissioning and Waste Management GmbH (WAK) became owner and operator of the waste treatment facilities of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) as well as of the prototype reactors, the Compact Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor (KNK) and Multi-Purpose Reactor (MZFR), both being in an advanced stage of dismantling. Together with the dismantling and decontamination activities of the former WAK reprocessing facility since 1990, the envisaged demolishing of the R and D reactor FR2 and a hot cell facility, all governmentally funded nuclear decommissioning projects on the Karlsruhe site are concentrated under the WAK management. The small space typical of prototype research reactors represented a challenge also during the last phase of activated dismantling, dismantling of the activated biological shield of the MZFR. Successful demolition of the biological shield required detailed planning and extensive testing in the years before. In view of the limited space and the ambient dose rate that was too high for manual work, it was required to find a tool carrier system to take up and control various demolition and dismantling tools in a remote manner. The strategy formulated in the concept of dismantling the biological shield by means of a modified electro-hydraulic demolition excavator in an adaptable working scaffolding turned out to be feasible. The following boundary conditions were essential: - Remote exchange of the dismantling and removal tools in smallest space. - Positioning of various supply facilities on the working platform. - Avoiding of interfering edges. - Optimization of mass flow (removal of the dismantled mass from the working area). - Maintenance in the surroundings of the dismantling area (in the controlled area). - Testing and qualification of the facilities and training of the staff. Both the dismantling technique chosen and the proceeding selected proved to be successful. Using various designs of universal cutters developed on the basis of wall saws, both the activated steel liner and the inner reinforcing layer were cut remotely in one process. This allowed for the efficient execution of the following remote concrete removal steps using mining techniques. The electro-hydraulic demolition excavator that was purchased and then modified turned out to be an ideal tool carrier system with rapid-exchange coupling. Due to the high availability, no major delays occurred. This also was a result of the consistently implemented maintenance and repair concept. With the excavator installed in a modifiable scaffolding suspended from a rotating carrier ring, all dismantling areas could be reached and treated in spite of the small space. Thanks to an optimum organization of work-flows, routine change of dismantling work, and maintenance or repair, the iterative radiological measurement campaigns could be integrated in the whole activity without the dismantling work being disturbed significantly. The ventilation system with pressure grading and pre-filtration units ensured a low contamination level in the dismantling area. It was also possible to manage the dust formed by the milling of concrete surfaces. As it was possible to further cut metal parts and crushed concrete later on, residue flows were optimized. The planned overall period for testing, dismantling the bio-shield and removing the equipment was 36 months. The final duration was 39 months. (authors)
Due to the worldwide shortage of helium 3, Boron-lined proportional counters are developed intensively by several groups. Up to now, thin boron containing layers for neutron detectors are essentially produced by sputtering of boron carbide (B{sub 4}C). This technology provides high quality films but it is slow and expensive. Our paper describes a novel and inexpensive technology for producing boron layers. This technology is based on chemical synthesis of boron 10 nanoparticles, and on electrophoretic deposition of these particles on metallic plates, or on metallic pieces with more complex shapes. The chemical synthesis consists in: - Heating boron 10 with lithium up to 700 deg. C under inert atmosphere: an intermetallic compound, LiB, is produced; - Hydrolysing this intermetallic compound: LiB + H{sub 2}O → B + Li{sup +} + OH{sup -} + 1/2H{sub 2}, where B is under the form of nanoparticles; - Purifying the suspension of boron nanoparticles in water, from lithium hydroxide, by successive membrane filtrations; - Evaporating the purified suspension, in order to get a powder of nanoparticles. The obtained nanoparticles have size around 300 nm, with a high porosity, of about 50%. This particle size is equivalent to about 150 nm massive particles. The nanoparticles are then put into suspension in a specific solvent, in order to perform deposition on metallic surfaces, by electrophoretic method. The solvent is chosen so that it is not electrolysed even under voltages of several tens of volts. An acid is dissolved into the solvent, so that the nanoparticles are positively charged. Deposition is performed on the cathode within about 10 min. The cathode could be an aluminium plate, or a nickel coated aluminium plate. Homogeneous deposition may also be performed on complex shapes, like grids in a Multigrid detector. A large volume of pieces, can be coated with a Boron-10 film in a few hours. The thickness of the layer can be adjusted according to the required neutron detection characteristics, between 0,5 to 5 μm (equivalent to 0,25 to 2.5 massive layer). The thickness is homogenous within a ±20% range. The layer is an almost pure {sup 10}B layer (90%). The ratio of the amount of deposed boron 10 to the amount of raw boron 10 used is more than 80%. Hence, another advantage of this technique is that Boron 10 will be deposited on the cathodes only, without loss of this expensive material. 2 grids of a Multi-Grid detector have been coated with pure Boron by using this technique. The film structure has been analysed with a microscope and the detector has been tested on a monochromatic neutron beam line. Preliminary results will be shown. (authors)
The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) developed a Hydrazine base reductive metal ion decontamination (HyBRID) and related pre-oxidation techniques for use in decommissioning a nuclear facility. Inorganic chemicals were used to increase the integrity of the radioactive waste in a repository. Decomposition and precipitation of residual reagents with inorganic chemicals were introduced to minimize the final waste volume. The waste volume was calculated theoretically and demonstrated in a small-scale waste treatment system and bench-scale candle filtration system. The total waste volume of the HyBRID process was less than 1/10 of that of commercial processes, and spent ion-exchange resins were significantly reduced to 5% of that of commercial processes. (authors)