Chemistry

Course guarantor:

Barbora Drtinová

Lecturer:

Barbora Drtinová

Tutor:

Barbora Drtinová

Supervisor:

Department of Nuclear Chemistry

Synopsis:

At first, the principles of water treatment processes, the sources of radioactive contamination and the principles of the treatment of all types of wastes are discussed. The main attention is paid to the individual technological operations used to the purification of feeding waters and cooling circuit waters and of all liquid and gaseous radioactive media encountered in NPP. The technological operations used to the treatment of wastes and the corrosion problems of the construction materials are discussed in detail, too.

Requirements:

1. The basic knowledge of inorganic and physical chemistry.

2. The knowledge of nuclear chemistry bearing on uranium fission and on basic nuclear reactions.

Syllabus of lectures:

1. Mechanical processes for the treatment of waters (filtration, sedimentation, centrifugation). The principles of physical-chemical and chemical processes for the treatment of waters, sludge and gases (water clarification, ion exchange, evaporation, solidification of radioactive wastes, and the purification of gases).

2. Ion exchangers (structure, the basic types and properties, application for the water treatment, the types of apparatus and the realization of working cycle).

3. The radiochemical speciality of some operations of NPP (contamination of primary circuit water by fission and corrosion products and by the products of important radiochemical reactions).

4. The review of treatment processes used in NPP (the simplified technological diagrams).

5. The treatment of non-radioactive waters and sludge (supplementary and cooling water, condensate from secondary circuit, neutralization, dewatering of sludge, etc.).

6. The treatment processes of the primary circuit cooling water.

7. The purification of water from the storage pools with irradiated fuels.

8. The purification of sludge from steam generator.

9. The purification of the wastes from the ion exchanger?s regeneration and washing, of the leakage from primary circuit, etc.).

10. The purification and the storage of boric concentrate. The purification of radioactive gaseous wastes.

11. The treatment and deposition of radioactive wastes (liquid and solid wastes).

12. The problems of corrosion (the fundamentals of corrosion, the types of corrosion and the defence against the corrosion; the corrosion problems in primary and secondary circuits; experimental methods for the study of corrosion.

Syllabus of tutorials:

1. Summary of all data on the base of which the construction of flow sheet of non-active water treatment is possible (on the assumption that mechanical filtration, clarification and demineralization or deionization of water is considered).

2. The improvement of economy of the DEMI-water production - draw up the flow sheets.

3. Draw up the flow sheet of cooling tower water purification.

4. Draw up the flow sheet of so-called block purification of condensate (from second cooling circuit) on the assumption that radioactive contamination exists or not.

5. Draw up the flow sheets of purification of input water and of treatment of non-active wastes.

6. Draw up the flow sheets of decontamination of primary circuit cooling water (continuous decontamination and drain water decontamination).

7. Draw up the flow sheets of decontamination of water from the storage pools with irradiated fuels and the purification of sludge from steam generator.

8. Draw up the flow sheet of purification (decontamination) of radioactive gases including the treatment of corresponding wastes (there are the solid wastes in this case).

9. Draw up the flow sheet of purification of boric acid concentrate.

10. Draw up the flow sheet of the treatment of liquid radioactive wastes, including their solidification and deposition, resulting from evaporation procedure.

11. Draw up the complete technological flow sheet describing the mutual coupling of individual operations used in NPP to the purification of waters and waste disposal.

12. Credit work (the report accompanying the complete technological flow sheet mentioned above).

Study Objective:

The postgraduates obtain the knowledge related to the physical and physico-chemical principles of water treatment, decontamination and corrosion processes, and of corresponding technological operations, including the treatment of wastes, used in NPP. The postgraduates obtain the competence to the evaluation and assessment of the influence of individual technological parameters on the purification and decontamination process and to the solution of operating failure.

Study materials:

Key references:

Kritsky V.G.: Water Chemistry and Corrosion of Nuclear Power Plant Structural Materials. American Nuclear Society, La Grange Park, Illinois, U.S.A., 1999.

Recommended references:

Water Chemistry of Nuclear Reactor Systems 8 (Proceedings, Vol. 1). British Nuclear Energy Society. Thomas Telford Ltd., London, 2000.

Note:

Time-table for winter semester 2024/2025:

Time-table is not available yet

Time-table for summer semester 2024/2025:

Time-table is not available yet

The course is a part of the following study plans: