METHOD OF TREATING IRRADIATED REACTOR GRAPHITE Russian patent published in 2015 - IPC G21F9/00 

FIELD: physics, atomic power.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to methods of treating irradiated reactor graphite. The disclosed method includes thermal decomposition and oxidation steps. The method includes a preparatory step of placing graphite in a thermal chamber, blowing a gaseous inert medium through the thermal chamber, said medium heated to maximum temperature of 700-1100°C, to release gaseous radioactive decomposition products into the inert medium. Further, the gaseous inert medium is treated for extraction and subsequent recycling of radioactive compounds of tritium and chlorine-36. Further, the method includes an oxidation step, where a gaseous oxygen-containing medium is blown through the thermal chamber to release gaseous radioactive oxidation products into the oxygen-containing medium, wherein the temperature of the medium is kept higher than 500°C, but lower than the maximum temperature of the gaseous inert medium at the thermal decomposition step. The obtained oxygen-containing medium with radioactive reaction products is then removed from the thermal chamber and treated for extraction and subsequent recycling of radioactive compounds of carbon-14. At the final step graphite is retrieved from the thermal chamber.

EFFECT: high efficiency of purifying irradiated reactor graphite from radionuclides owing to deep volumetric and selective deactivation thereof, and safer deactivation.

4 cl, 2 dwg