Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Michael Troy

Armand J Panson

Colloidal corrosion products which are referred to as crud are removed from nuclear reactor coolant streams by suspending zirconium oxide particles in the coolant stream. The crud will be attracted to the surfaces of the zirconia particles and caused to agglomerate thereon. Such zirconia/crud agglomerates may be readily filtered from the coolant. By providing scavenger particles which comprise active areas of zirconia on basically magnetite particles, after the crud is agglomerated to the active zirconia surfaces, the agglomerates may be removed from the coolant utilizing magnetic separation principles.

Reactor coolant crud control by particulate scavenging and filtration

A cartridge for the permanent storage and disposal of radioactive particulate waste composed of a liquid impervious casing enclosing a waste storage region provided with a ferromagnetic matrix made of steel wool, together with inlet and outlet conduits suitably associated with the waste storage region to enable a liquid containing such waste material to be conducted through the matrix while the particulate waste is adhered thereto under the influence of a magnetic field and the remaining liquid filtrate is expelled from the cartridge, and to then permit an encapsulating material, such as a resin-catalyst mixture, to be introduced into the waste storage region to completely fill that region. The cartridge is temporarily connected into a system including remotely controllable valves and conduits for permitting the liquid containing waste material to be introduced into the cartridge while the liquid component thereof is removed to a storage container, and the encapsulating material to be then introduced into the waste storage region, followed by direct insertion of the cartridge into a drum which can be subsequently sealed and permanently stored, all of this occurring in a fully mechanized and remote manner which does not require the exposure of any operating personnel to significant radiation dose.

Permanent disposal of radioactive particulate waste

Permanent disposal of radioactive particulate waste in cartridge

A high gradient magnetic filter is enhanced by the electrophoretic effect whereby the range of effectiveness of the conventional high gradient magnetic filter for collecting suspended magnetic solid particles from liquid streams, such as power plant coolant streams, is extended to collect suspended magnetic solid particles of submicron size as well as particulates not susceptible to a magnetic field gradient. A conventional high gradient magnetic filter is connected into a pipeline, through which a liquid stream containing the suspended solid particles to be removed is flowing, so that the filter is electrically insulated from the remainder of the pipeline, and a potential is applied to the filter to polarize same relative to the pipeline with a polarity which is opposite the polarity of the charged particles in the stream which are to be collected.

Growing community of inventors

Allegheny County, PA, United States of America

Michael Troy