METHOD OF REMOVAL OF CARBON-14 FROM REACTOR GRAPHITE Russian patent published in 2018 - IPC G21F9/28 

FIELD: nuclear physics and equipment.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to methods for deactivating treatment of irradiated reactor graphite, can be used in decommissioning uranium-graphite reactor facilities and in handling carbon-containing solid radioactive waste (SRW) to reduce the class of their radiation hazard. Method for removing carbon-14 from reactor graphite includes its fragmentation and grinding, impregnating the soluble metal compounds in the carbon structure of reactor graphite and their thermal destruction in an oxygen depleted atmosphere, selective oxidation of carbon-14 and transportation of its compounds with the off-gas stream. Ground reactor graphite is impregnated with an activating solution of an amino alcohol (monoethanolamine, triethanolamine) containing complex copper and vanadium compounds, treatment is carried out in a reducing or oxidizing environment (obtaining jet-milled solid-phase inclusions inside the carbon structure), heated to a temperature of 700–950 °C under vacuum 3×10^-2–0.9×10^-1 mmHg, after cooling to a temperature of 350 °C is treated at a temperature of 410–485 °C with an oxygen-containing gas stream.

EFFECT: invention makes it possible to extract more than 90 % of the carbon-14 contained in the reactor graphite.

10 cl, 6 ex