Removal of volatile radioactive iodine compounds from water vapor–air medium

Abstract

Sorption of CH3 131I and 131I2 from water vapor–air medium onto SiO2–C (2 wt %) composite material and a mixture of SKT-3I with SiO2–Cu0 (10 wt %) was studied. SKT-3I shows high performance in sorption of 131I2 and CH3 131I. The degree of localization of 131I2 and CH3 131I exceeds 99.99% at ~60°С and gas phase–sorbent contact time τ of ~0.45 s. The degree of sorption of 131I2 and CH3 131I onto the SiO2–C (2 wt %) composite material under similar conditions does not exceed ~87 and ~8%, respectively. Experiments on 131I2 and CH3 131I sorption onto mechanical mixtures of SiO2–Cu0 and SKT-3I in the weight ratio varied from 1: 4 to 1: 1 showed that the degree of the 131I2 and CH3 131I sorption at ~60°С and τ ~0.45 s exceeded 99.95 and 99.0%, respectively. The scheme of layer-by-layer arrangement of SiO2–Cu0 and SKT-3I in the column was examined. It shows promise for use in AUI-1500VM filters in ventilation systems of nuclear power plants.