Preliminary Design of Oxygen Control and Purification System in Lead-Alloy Cooled Reactors

Abstract

Oxygen control and purification was required in reactor of Lead-Bismuth Eutectic (LBE) to slow down the corrosion of structural materials and at the same time avoid PbO/Bi2O3 formation in the coolant. So a whole system that can measure and adjust the oxygen concentration and purify the coolant are essential for the reactor. The oxygen control system should supply adequate oxygen to compensate the loss by surface oxidation. The methodology for design of oxygen control and purification system is presented in this paper. Oxygen could be provided by the gas phase or PbO dissolution based solid mass exchangers. Every method for controlling oxygen has its special advantages and disadvantages. To design the required oxygen control system for LFR the expected amount of oxygen that was consumed by the steel oxidation is evaluated. This evaluation considers a realistic operation scenario and start-up of a reactor. Oxygen consumption under different operating scenario in the reactor was calculated. It can provide input parameters for the design of oxygen control system. H2/H2O/Ar was used to control the oxygen concentration and a reasonable oxygen partial pressure device was designed to control the oxygen concentration in LBE. This method can be used for controlling oxygen concentration and ensuring the safety of the reactor operation.