Study of iodine removal efficiency in self-priming venturi scrubber

Abstract

Venturi scrubber is used in filtered vented containment system of nuclear power plants to remove the gaseous pollutants from contaminated gas during severe accidents. In this research, an experimental and theoretical investigation has been carried out to study the iodine removal efficiency in a self-priming venturi scrubber. The aqueous solution is prepared by adding weight percentage of sodium hydroxide 0.5% and sodium thiosulphate 0.2% in scrubbing water to increase the absorbance of inorganic iodine (I2) from the contaminated gas during emission. The iodine removal efficiency is investigated at various gas and liquid flow rates, and iodine inlet concentrations. The iodine removal efficiency is measured experimentally by measuring the inlet and outlet concentration of iodine at sampling ports. The petite droplets are formed in a venturi scrubber to absorb the iodine through the mass transfer phenomenon. A mathematical model for mass transfer based on a gas liquid interface is employed for the verification of experimental results. The contact time between iodine and scrubbing solution depends on the total volumetric flow of gas and liquid, and volume of throat and diffuser of the venturi scrubber. Sauter mean diameter is calculated from the Nukiyama and Tanasawa correlation. Steinberger and Treybal’s correlation is used to measure the mass transfer coefficient for the gas phase. The results calculated from the model under predict the experimental data.