再処理施設の高レベル廃液蒸発乾固事故でのNOの化学挙動を考慮したRuの移行挙動解析

Analysis of behavior of Ru with nitrogen oxide chemical behavior in accident of evaporation to dryness by boiling of reprocessed high level liquid waste

吉田 一雄 ; 玉置 等史 ; 桧山 美奈*

Yoshida, Kazuo; Tamaki, Hitoshi; Hiyama, Mina*

再処理施設の過酷事故の一つである高レベル放射性廃液貯槽の冷却機能喪失による蒸発乾固事故では、沸騰により廃液貯槽から発生する硝酸-水混合蒸気とともにルテニウム(Ru)の揮発性の化学種が放出される。このためリスク評価の観点からは、Ruの定量的な放出量の評価が重要な課題である。課題解決に向け当該施設での蒸気凝縮を伴う環境でのRuの移行挙動に係る小規模実験のデータ分析の結果から気液界面でのRuの物質移行係数の相関式を導出した。この相関式を用いて実規模の仮想的な再処理施設を対象に施設内でのRuの移行挙動の模擬を試行した。解析では、窒素酸化物の化学挙動を解析するSCHERNコードにこの相関式を組み込み、施設内の熱流動解析で得られた条件を境界条件としてRuの定量的な移行挙動を模擬し、その有効性を確認した。

An accident of evaporation to dryness by boiling of high level liquid waste (HLLW) is postulated as one of the severe accidents caused by the loss of cooling function at a fuel reprocessing plant. In this case, volatile radioactive materials, such as ruthenium (Ru) are released from the tanks with water and nitric-acid mixed vapor into atmosphere. Accurate quantitative estimation of released Ru is one of the important issues for risk assessment of those facilities. To resolve this issue, an empirical correlation equation of Ru mass transfer coefficient across the vapor-liquid surface, which can be useful for quantitative simulation of Ru mitigating behavior, has been obtained from data analyses of small-scale experiments conducted to clarify gaseous Ru migrating behavior under steam-condensing condition. A simulation study has been also carried out with a hypothetical typical facility building successfully to demonstrate the feasibility of quantitative estimation of amount of Ru migrating in the facility using the obtained correlation equation implemented in SCHERN computer code which simulates chemical behaviors of nitrogen oxide based on the condition also simulated thermal-hydraulic computer code.