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INDUSTRIAL-SCALE MELTING OF TRITIUM-CONTAINING STEEL FROM NUCLEAR INSTALLATIONS

Objective

The objective and scope is to subject steel scrap, coming from decommissioning, to (among others) a special tritium removal treatment in order to reduce the amount of waste which has to be disposed.

The proposed work consists in trapping the tritium released from scrap during the heating and melting process in a specially adapted exhaust system of the melting facility. For this project the already existing facility has to be modified, adapted and tested. The estimated steel quantities for the treatment amount to circa 18 Mg with exhaust gas streams of about 5,000 m cubic/h.
The objective and scope is to subject steel scrap, coming from decommissioning, to a special tritium removal treatment in order to reduce the amount of waste which has to be disposed. The proposed work consists in trapping the tritium released from scrap during the heating and melting process in a specially adapted exhaust system of the melting facility.

A representative charge of tritium containing material was found at nuclear power plants and at a tritium laboratory. The waste consists of 13 tritium gas bottles and more than 1000 kg of dismantled tubes, valves and housing materials. Due to the fact that uncertainties occur with respect to the degree of activity, samples were sent to the Nuclear Resarch Centre Juelich, in order to determine the level of activity. A test plan for measurement techniques was elaborated and the tritium elimination device was chosen.
WORK PROGRAMME

1. Material choice: Laboratory evaluations on samples coming from parts of the NPP Niederaichbach will provide a representative charge of material. (all)

2. Radiological measurements: which consists in choosing the tritium elimination device in accordance with the measurement techniques. (all)

3. Modification of the existing plant with integration of the new components. (SG)

4. Determination of tritium release during heating up at different temperature steps. (SG)

5. Evaluation of the released tritium activity. (all)

6. Documentation of the collected results. (all)

Call for proposal

Data not available

Coordinator

SIEMPELKAMP NUKLEAR- UND UMWELTTECHNIK GMBH & CO.
EU contribution
No data
Address
45,Siempelkampstra?e 45
47803 Krefeld
Germany

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Total cost
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Participants (1)