Improving molten fluoride salt and Xe135 barrier property of nuclear graphite by phenolic resin impregnation process

Abstract

A densification process has been conducted on isostatic graphite (IG-110, TOYO TANSO CO., Ltd., Japan) by impregnating phenolic resin to get the densified isostatic graphite (D-IG-110) with pore diameter of nearly 11 nm specifically for molten salt reactor application. The microstructure, mechanical, thermophysical and other properties of graphite were systematically investigated and compared before and after the densification process. The molten fluoride salt and Xe135 penetration in the graphite were evaluated in a high-pressure reactor and a vacuum device, respectively. Results indicated that D-IG-110 exhibited improved properties including infiltration resistance to molten fluoride salt and Xe135 as compared to IG-110 due to its low porosity of 2.8%, the average pore diameter of 11 nm and even smaller open pores on the surface of the graphite. The fluoride salt infiltration amount of IG-110 was 13.5 wt% under 1.5 atm and tended to be saturated under 3 atm with the fluoride salt occupation of 14.8 wt%. As to the D-IG-110, no salts could be detected even up to 10 atm attempted loading. The helium diffusion coefficient of D-IG-110 was 6.92 × 10−8 cm2/s, significantly less than 1.21 × 10−2 cm2/s of IG-110. If these as-produced properties for impregnated D-IG-110 could be retained during MSR operation, the material could prove effective at inhibiting molten fluoride salt and Xe135 inventories in the graphite.