Radioactive Effluent Decontamination via Solid Phase Recycling Loop
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current decontamination methods for radioactive liquid effluents generate excessive solid waste and require large volumes for storage, while maintaining partial efficiency due to the need for repeated treatments and high activity levels.
Innovation Solution
A continuous decontamination process where part of the solid phase captured during the decontamination is reinjected into the reactor to maintain high decontamination efficiency without increasing solid waste, utilizing a combination of unused and reused solid particles to capture radioactive elements like strontium, ruthenium, and cesium.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If repeated decontamination treatments are performed on high activity effluents, then decontamination efficiency is maintained, but the volume of solid waste generated increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent recovers and reuses the solid phase (sludge) containing captured radionuclides instead of discarding it after a single treatment. The solid phase is regenerated and reinjected into the reactor to continue capturing radionuclides, transforming waste into a reusable resource that maintains decontamination efficiency while minimizing solid waste volume
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a continuous decontamination process where the solid phase circulates continuously between the reactor and the separation unit. This continuous circulation allows the same solid phase to perform multiple capture cycles, maintaining consistent decontamination efficiency without requiring repeated treatment operations that would generate proportional amounts of waste
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple treatments are applied to achieve complete decontamination, then the effluent purity improves, but the storage volume of sludge increases
Solution Approach 1:
The solid phase is recovered after separation and regenerated to restore its radionuclide capture capacity. This regeneration process allows the same solid phase to be reused for multiple treatment cycles, achieving high effluent purity through repeated use of the same material rather than generating new waste for each treatment cycle
Solution Approach 2:
The solid phase performs self-regeneration through the separation and regeneration process, restoring its capture capacity without requiring replacement. This self-service capability allows the material to maintain its function over multiple cycles, reducing the need for continuous material input and waste generation
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces the volume of solid waste and enhances decontamination efficiency by reusing solid particles, concentrating radioactive elements in a smaller volume of waste, and avoiding membrane contamination issues.
Implementation Method 1
solid particles capable of capturing and retaining the said radioactive chemical element(s) to be eliminated
Implementation Method 2
a step of bringing said liquid effluent into contact, in a first reactor, with solid particles capable of capturing and retaining the said radioactive chemical element(s) to be eliminated, whereby a suspension of solid particles containing the said chemical element(s) is obtained
Implementation Method 3
a step of settling said suspension in a second reactor, whereby a solid phase is obtained comprising the solid particles containing said radioactive chemical element(s) to be eliminated and a liquid phase depleted or devoid of said radioactive chemical element(s) to be eliminated
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a continuous method for the decontamination of a radioactive liquid effluent including one or more radioactive chemical elements to be removed that comprises the following steps: the step of contacting, in a first reactor, said radioactive liquid effluent with solid particles capable of trapping and retaining said radioactive chemical element(s) to be removed, thus providing a solid particle suspension containing the radioactive chemical element(s) to be removed; in a second reactor, the step of letting the suspension settle in order to obtain a solid phase including solid particles containing the radioactive chemical element(s) to be removed, and a liquid phase that with few or no radioactive chemical element(s) to be removed; the step of separating said solid phase and said liquid phase; characterised in that a portion of the solid phase obtained after the settling step is re-injected into the first reactor in order to implement a contacting step as defined above. The invention can be used for processing radioactive liquid effluents from nuclear power plants.