Nuclear reactor and hydrogen removal device therefor

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application relate to a general chemical or physical method performed in the presence of fluid, and in particular to a reactor and a hydrogen removal device thereof. The reactor comprises a secondary loop, and the hydrogen removal device is arranged in the secondary loop to remove hydrogen therefrom. The hydrogen removal device comprises a hydrogen removal device body, a hydrogen removal membrane, a first pipe, a first hydrogen trap, a second pipe, a second hydrogen trap, and a metal vapor filter device. Liquid metal flows through the hydrogen removal membrane inside the hydrogen removal device body to complete hydrogen removal. The first pipe can vacuumize the hydrogen removal membrane and allow hydrogen to flow out through the first pipe. The first hydrogen trap collects hydrogen flowing out of the first pipe. The second pipe sucks gas in the hydrogen removal device body out, and the gas is filtered by the metal vapor filter device to remove metal vapor, then flows through the second hydrogen trap to collect hydrogen. The gas flowing out of the second hydrogen trap flows back to the hydrogen removal device body. The hydrogen removal device provided by the embodiments of the present application can trap hydrogen in the liquid metal, thereby improving the purity of the liquid metal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of this application relate to general chemical or physical methods performed in the presence of fluids, and more specifically to a reactor and its hydrogen removal apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] The statements herein are provided merely as background information in relation to the present invention and do not necessarily constitute prior art.

[0003] In alkali metal-cooled fast reactors, the primary and secondary loop media are liquid alkali metals, such as lithium, sodium, or sodium-potassium alloys. Liquid alkali metals are highly reactive and readily react with oxygen and water in the air to form hydrides. Hydrides are the main impurities in liquid alkali metals, and these impurities can affect the nuclear performance of the reactor, leading to blockages and corrosion. Therefore, the purity of liquid alkali metals used in reactors must meet certain requirements. Summary of the Invention

[0004] A brief overview of this application is provided below to offer a basic understanding of certain aspects thereof. It should be understood that this overview is not an exhaustive summary of the application. It is not intended to identify key or essential parts of the application, nor is it intended to limit its scope. Its purpose is merely to present certain concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that follows.

[0005] This application provides a reactor and a hydrogen removal device thereof. In a first aspect, this application provides a hydrogen removal device for a reactor using liquid metal as a cooling medium, comprising: a hydrogen removal device body, a hydrogen removal membrane, a first pipeline, a first hydrogen trap, a second pipeline, a second hydrogen trap, and a metal vapor filtration device.

[0006] The hydrogen removal device has an inlet and an outlet for liquid metal. The liquid metal enters the device through the inlet, is dehydrogenated within it, and then exits through the outlet. A dehydrogenation membrane is installed inside the device, and the liquid metal flows through it from the inlet to the outlet. A first pipeline is connected to the membrane, and a vacuum is drawn through it to remove hydrogen absorbed by the membrane. The hydrogen gas exiting the first pipeline is collected by a first hydrogen trap. A second pipeline is in fluid communication with the device and draws out the gas from the device. A second hydrogen trap and a metal vapor filter are installed outside the device. The gas exiting the second pipeline is filtered by the metal vapor filter and then flows into the second hydrogen trap, which collects the hydrogen. The gas after passing through the second hydrogen trap returns to the device.

[0007] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a reactor that uses the hydrogen removal device provided in the first aspect of this application for hydrogen removal. The reactor includes a secondary loop, and the hydrogen removal device is disposed in the secondary loop to remove hydrogen from the secondary loop.

[0008] The hydrogen removal device provided in the embodiments of this application can capture hydrogen in the liquid metal in the secondary loop of the reactor through a first hydrogen trap and a second hydrogen trap, thereby reducing the hydrogen content in the liquid metal and increasing the purity of the liquid metal. Attached Figure Description

[0009] Other objects and advantages of this application will become apparent from the following description of embodiments of this application with reference to the accompanying drawings, and will help to provide a comprehensive understanding of this application.

[0010] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the hydrogen removal device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0011] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0012] 100. Hydrogen removal unit;

[0013] 10. Main body of hydrogen removal device; 101. Inlet; 102. Outlet; 103. Temperature measuring element; 11. Hydrogen removal membrane; 12. First pipeline; 121. Pressure gauge; 122. First vacuum pump; 13. First hydrogen trap; 14. Second pipeline; 141. Second vacuum pump; 15. Second hydrogen trap; 16. Metal vapor filtration device; 17. Heating element; 18. Cooling element; 19. Pressurizing element; 20. Pipeline.

[0014] It should be noted that the accompanying drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, but are shown only in a schematic manner without affecting the reader's understanding. Detailed Implementation

[0015] Exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. For clarity and brevity, not all features of actual implementations are described in the specification. However, it should be understood that many implementation-specific decisions must be made in the development of any such actual embodiment to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as complying with constraints related to the system and business, and these constraints may vary depending on the implementation. Furthermore, it should be understood that while development work can be very complex and time-consuming, such development work is merely a routine task for those skilled in the art who benefit from the content of this application.

[0016] It should also be noted that, in order to avoid obscuring the invention with unnecessary details, only the device structure and / or processing steps closely related to the solution according to the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, while other details that are not closely related to the invention are omitted.

[0017] Currently, the main equipment for purifying hydrogen and its isotopes in liquid alkali metals is the cold trap. The principle of the cold trap is to cool the liquid alkali metal. The solubility of hydrogen and its isotopes in liquid alkali metals decreases with decreasing temperature. Cooling causes hydrogen and its isotopes to precipitate from the liquid alkali metal, thereby reducing the hydrogen and isotope content and increasing the purity of the liquid alkali metal. The cold trap can capture hydrogen internally, but the capture capacity is not unlimited; the cold trap needs to be replaced when it is full of hydrogen.

[0018] Steam is commonly used for power conversion in alkali metal-cooled fast reactors. When using steam for power conversion, a steam generator is needed to exchange heat from the liquid alkali metal to the water side, heating the liquid water to produce steam. The heat exchange tubes of the steam generator typically have thin walls, allowing hydrogen to permeate in large quantities. This increases the hydrogen content in the liquid alkali metal loop, causing the cold trap to trap a large amount of hydrogen, leading to rapid filling and frequent replacements. This generates significant amounts of waste, increasing maintenance and waste disposal costs and making maintenance and waste disposal more difficult.

[0019] To address at least one aspect of the aforementioned technical problems, embodiments of this application provide a reactor and a hydrogen removal device thereon. In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a hydrogen removal device for a reactor using liquid metal as the cooling medium, such as... Figure 1 The diagram shows a schematic of the structure of a hydrogen removal device 100 provided in an embodiment of this application. The arrows in the diagram indicate the flow direction of liquid metal. The device includes: a hydrogen removal device body 10, a hydrogen removal membrane 11, a first pipeline 12, a first hydrogen trap 13, a second pipeline 14, a second hydrogen trap 15, and a metal vapor filter 16.

[0020] The hydrogen removal device body 10 may have an inlet 101 and an outlet 102 for liquid metal. Liquid metal enters the hydrogen removal device body 10 through the inlet 101, is dehydrogenated within the body, and then flows out through the outlet 102. A hydrogen removal membrane 11 may be disposed inside the hydrogen removal device body 10. Liquid metal flows through the hydrogen removal membrane 11 from the inlet 101 to the outlet 102. A first pipeline 12 is connected to the hydrogen removal membrane 11 and can evacuate the membrane, allowing the hydrogen absorbed by the membrane to be removed. Hydrogen flows out through the first pipe 12; the hydrogen flowing out from the first pipe 12 can be collected by the first hydrogen trap 13; the second pipe 14 can be fluidly connected to the main body 10 of the hydrogen removal device to draw out the gas inside the main body 10 of the hydrogen removal device; the second hydrogen trap 15 and the metal vapor filter 16 can be set outside the main body 10 of the hydrogen removal device; the gas flowing out from the second pipe 14 can be filtered by the metal vapor filter 16 and then flow into the second hydrogen trap 15; the second hydrogen trap 15 can collect the hydrogen in the gas; the gas after passing through the second hydrogen trap 15 flows back into the main body 10 of the hydrogen removal device.

[0021] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a reactor that uses a hydrogen removal device 100 provided in the first aspect of this application for hydrogen removal. The reactor includes a secondary loop, and the hydrogen removal device 100 is disposed in the secondary loop to remove hydrogen from the secondary loop.

[0022] The hydrogen removal device 100 provided in the embodiments of this application can capture hydrogen in the liquid metal in the secondary loop of the reactor through the first hydrogen trap 13 and the second hydrogen trap 15, thereby reducing the hydrogen content in the liquid metal and improving the purity of the liquid metal.

[0023] The hydrogen removal device 100 provided by the embodiments of this application can absorb hydrogen from liquid metal, thereby reducing the amount of hydrogen absorbed by the cold trap, reducing the number of cold traps that need to be processed, reducing the difficulty of cold trap processing, and reducing the cost of maintenance, management and waste disposal.

[0024] The hydrogen removal device 100 provided in the embodiments of this application can capture radioactive hydrogen isotopes in liquid metal, such as tritium, thereby reducing the total amount of radioactive material released into the environment and reducing environmental pollution.

[0025] In some embodiments, the main body 10 of the hydrogen removal device can be configured as a pump buffer tank of the secondary loop. Utilizing the device itself can reduce the need for reactor modification and ensure reactor safety. At the same time, the secondary loop also has a higher temperature, which can be used to accelerate hydrogen permeation and reduce energy consumption.

[0026] In some embodiments, the main body 10 of the hydrogen removal device may further include a temperature measuring element 103, which can detect the temperature of the liquid metal in the main body 10 of the hydrogen removal device to prevent the liquid metal from solidifying due to excessively low temperature, thus affecting the hydrogen removal effect.

[0027] In some embodiments, the hydrogen removal device body 10 may further include a heating element that can heat the liquid metal in the hydrogen removal device body 10, maintain the temperature of the liquid metal at a predetermined level, and prevent the liquid metal from solidifying.

[0028] In some embodiments, the hydrogen removal membrane 11 can be a nickel membrane or an iron-based membrane that is permeable to hydrogen but impermeable to liquid metal atoms. The iron-based membrane can be a stainless steel membrane, and there can be multiple hydrogen removal membranes 11. Vacuuming the hydrogen removal membrane 11 can create a pressure difference across the membrane, thereby allowing hydrogen to be absorbed from the liquid metal.

[0029] In some embodiments, the first pipeline 12 may include a pressure gauge 121, which can detect the vacuum level of the hydrogen removal membrane 11, thereby ensuring the vacuum level of the hydrogen removal membrane 11 and guaranteeing the effectiveness of the hydrogen removal membrane 11 in absorbing hydrogen.

[0030] In some embodiments, the first pipeline 12 may further include a first vacuum pump 122, which can evacuate the hydrogen removal membrane 11 and maintain the vacuum level of the first pipeline 12, ensuring that the hydrogen absorbed by the hydrogen removal membrane 11 can flow out from the first pipeline 12.

[0031] In some embodiments, the first hydrogen trap 13 and the second hydrogen trap 15 may include hydrogen trapping materials, see [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 1 , Figure 1 The shaded areas within the first hydrogen trap 13 and the second hydrogen trap 15 can represent hydrogen trapping materials. The absorbed hydrogen can be trapped by the hydrogen trapping materials and turned into water. The hydrogen trapping materials used can be CuO2. The first hydrogen trap 13 can be used to remove hydrogen from the liquid phase, and the second hydrogen trap 15 can be used to remove hydrogen from the gas phase.

[0032] In some embodiments, the second pipeline 14 may include a second vacuum pump 141, which can draw gas from the main body 10 of the hydrogen removal device and extract the gas.

[0033] In some embodiments, the metal vapor filter 16 can absorb the metal vapor in the gas drawn out from the main body 10 of the hydrogen removal device, thereby preventing the metal vapor from damaging the second hydrogen trap 15.

[0034] In some embodiments, the gas after passing through the second hydrogen trap 15 flows back into the hydrogen removal device body 10, which can prevent changes in the gas pressure inside the hydrogen removal device body 10.

[0035] In some embodiments, the gas pipeline 20 flowing back to the main body 10 of the hydrogen removal device via the second hydrogen trap 15 can be located inside the liquid. This arrangement can increase the mixing of gas and liquid, thereby improving the hydrogen removal effect of the hydrogen removal device 100. Furthermore, this arrangement allows more hydrogen to enter the gas phase from the liquid phase, which can improve the hydrogen removal effect in the gas phase and enhance the hydrogen removal effect of the second hydrogen trap 15.

[0036] In some embodiments, the hydrogen removal device 100 may further include a heating element 17, which may be located upstream of the second hydrogen trap 15 in the direction of gas flow. The heating element 17 can heat the gas and increase its temperature, thereby improving the hydrogen trapping capacity of the second hydrogen trap 15.

[0037] In some embodiments, the hydrogen removal device 100 may further include a cooling element 18, which may be located downstream of the second hydrogen trap 15 as viewed from the gas flow direction. The cooling element 18 can cool the gas flowing out of the second hydrogen trap 15, thereby preventing the gas pressure inside the hydrogen removal device body 10 from changing when the gas flowing out of the second hydrogen trap 15 flows back into the hydrogen removal device body 10.

[0038] In some embodiments, the hydrogen removal device 100 may further include a pressurizing member 19, which may be located downstream of the second hydrogen trap 15 as viewed from the gas flow direction. The pressurizing member 19 may pressurize the gas flowing out of the second hydrogen trap 15, thereby preventing the gas pressure inside the hydrogen removal device body 10 from changing when the gas flowing out of the second hydrogen trap 15 flows back into the hydrogen removal device body 10.

[0039] The process of removing hydrogen from liquid metal using the hydrogen removal device 100 provided in the embodiments of this application is described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments.

[0040] The hydrogen removal device 100 is installed in the secondary loop of the reactor. Liquid metal flows into the main body 10 of the hydrogen removal device through inlet 101. When it flows through the hydrogen removal membrane 11, the membrane absorbs hydrogen from the liquid metal. The first vacuum pump 122 is started to evacuate the hydrogen removal membrane 11. The hydrogen absorbed by the membrane flows through the first pipeline 12 to the first hydrogen trap 13 for collection. During this process, the pressure in the first pipeline 12 is monitored by pressure gauge 121. At the same time, the second vacuum pump 141 is started, and the gas in the main body 10 of the hydrogen removal device is drawn into the second pipeline 14. The heating element 17 is started, and the gas is drawn into the second pipeline 14 through the metal vapor. After being filtered by the filter device 16, the gas flows through the heating element 17, where its temperature rises. After flowing out of the heating element 17, it flows through the second hydrogen trap 15, which absorbs the hydrogen in the flowing gas. The remaining gas flows out of the second hydrogen trap 15 and flows along the pipeline 20 through the cooling element 18 and the pressurizing element 19 before flowing back into the main body 10 of the hydrogen removal device. One end of the gas return pipeline 20 is located below the liquid metal surface in the main body 10 of the hydrogen removal device. The returning gas first enters the liquid metal, then leaves the liquid metal, and returns to the gas above the liquid metal in the main body 10 of the hydrogen removal device.

[0041] Regarding the embodiments of this application, it should also be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments of this application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other to obtain new embodiments.

[0042] The above are merely specific embodiments of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. The scope of protection of this application shall be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A hydrogen removal device for a reactor using liquid metal as a cooling medium, comprising: The main body of the hydrogen removal device has an inlet and an outlet for liquid metal. The liquid metal enters the main body of the hydrogen removal device through the inlet, is dehydrogenated in the main body of the hydrogen removal device, and then flows out of the main body of the hydrogen removal device through the outlet. A hydrogen removal membrane is disposed inside the main body of the hydrogen removal device. The liquid metal flows through the hydrogen removal membrane as it flows from the inlet to the outlet. The first pipeline is connected to the hydrogen removal membrane. The first pipeline evacuates the hydrogen removal membrane, and the hydrogen absorbed by the hydrogen removal membrane flows out through the first pipeline. The first hydrogen trap collects the hydrogen gas flowing out of the first pipeline; The second pipeline is in fluid communication with the main body of the hydrogen removal device, and draws out the gas inside the main body of the hydrogen removal device. The second hydrogen trap and the metal vapor filter are located outside the main body of the hydrogen removal device. The gas flowing out from the second pipeline is filtered by the metal vapor filter and then flows into the second hydrogen trap. The second hydrogen trap collects the hydrogen in the gas, and the gas after passing through the second hydrogen trap flows back into the main body of the hydrogen removal device.

2. The hydrogen removal device according to claim 1, further comprising: A heating element is disposed upstream of the second hydrogen trap when viewed from the direction of gas flow.

3. The hydrogen removal device according to claim 2, further comprising: A cooling element is disposed downstream of the second hydrogen trap when viewed from the direction of gas flow.

4. The hydrogen removal device according to claim 3, further comprising: A pressurizing element is disposed downstream of the second hydrogen trap when viewed from the direction of gas flow.

5. The hydrogen removal device according to claim 4, wherein, The gas pipeline that flows back to the main body of the hydrogen removal device via the second hydrogen trap is located inside the liquid.

6. A reactor employing the hydrogen removal device according to any one of claims 1-5 for hydrogen removal, comprising: Two-circuit, The hydrogen removal device is installed in the secondary loop to remove hydrogen from the secondary loop.

7. The reactor according to claim 6, wherein, The main body of the hydrogen removal device is configured as a dual-loop pump buffer tank.

Images