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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
DOE announces NEPA exclusion for advanced reactors
The Department of Energy has announced that it is establishing a categorical exclusion for the application of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures to the authorization, siting, construction, operation, reauthorization, and decommissioning of advanced nuclear reactors.
According to the DOE, this significant change, which goes into effect today, “is based on the experience of DOE and other federal agencies, current technologies, regulatory requirements, and accepted industry practice.”
A.B. Antoniazzi, W.T. Shmayda
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 30 | Number 3 | December 1996 | Pages 879-884
Fuel Cycle and Tritium Technology | doi.org/10.13182/FST96-A11963048
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Tritiated waste and glovebox cleanup systems contain significant levels of trititated methane impurities which require reducing and processing to recover the tritium. A viable approach to the recovery of tritium is the conversion of tritiated methane into elemental tritium and carbon by thermal cracking on a heated metal matrix.
Through the conversion reaction of HTO/H2O with hot Al4C3 powder, tritiated methane concentrations in the 0.4 to 0.9 mCi/m3 range are achievable. The HTO/H2O ratio is ~10-7.
Conversion efficiencies for the decomposition of methane are measured for Zr-Fe-Mn alloy, iron oxide and supported nickel catalyst. HT and HTO are created by decomposing methane. Zr-Fe-Mn alloy achieved a maximum conversion efficiency of ~70% at 700°C. Iron oxide thermally cracked methane at 36% at a temperature of 700°C. Supported nickel operating at 450°C achieved conversion efficiencies ranging from 65 to 100%.
