Phase analysis of simulated nuclear fuel debris synthesized using UO, Zr, and stainless steel and leaching behavior of the fission products and matrix elements

Tonna, Ryutaro*; Sasaki, Takayuki*; Kodama, Yuji*; Kobayashi, Taishi*; Akiyama, Daisuke*; Kirishima, Akira*; Sato, Nobuaki*; Kumagai, Yuta; Kusaka, Ryoji; Watanabe, Masayuki

Nuclear Engineering and Technology, 55(4), p.1300 - 1309, 2023/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.net.2022.12.017

Simulated debris was synthesized using UO, Zr, and stainless steel and a heat treatment method under inert or oxidizing conditions. The primary U solid phase of the debris synthesized at 1473 K under inert conditions was UO, whereas a (U,Zr)O solid solution formed at 1873 K. Under oxidizing conditions, a mixture of UO and (Fe,Cr)UO phases formed at 1473 K whereas a (U,Zr)O solid solution formed at 1873 K. The leaching behavior of the fission products from the simulated debris was evaluated using two methods: the irradiation method, for which fission products were produced via neutron irradiation, and the doping method, for which trace amounts of non-radioactive elements were doped into the debris. The dissolution behavior of U depended on the properties of the debris and aqueous medium the debris was immersed in. Cs, Sr, and Ba leached out regardless of the primary solid phases. The leaching of high-valence Eu and Ru ions was suppressed, possibly owing to their solid-solution reaction with or incorporation into the uranium compounds of the simulated debris.

Preliminary studies of XANES and DFT calculation of Ru extraction by imino-diacetamide and related compounds

Sasaki, Yuji; Nakase, Masahiko*; Kaneko, Masashi; Kobayashi, Toru; Takeshita, Kenji*; Matsumiya, Masahiko*

Analytical Sciences, 5 Pages, 2023/00

https://doi.org/10.1007/s44211-023-00453-y

We conducted three field researches on Ru-extraction, XANES, and DFT-calculation. The order of the distribution ratio, D(Ru), from acid, HCl HSO HNO HClO, by MIDOA is studied by XANES spectra, which indicates the valency change of Ru in HCl media and supports the ion pairing extraction of anionic Ru ion and cationic MIDOA. The same extractant trend, NTAamide MIDOA IDOA, due to D values as the energy gap of HOMO and LUMO could be found by DFT calculation, which suggests that the reaction heat has a positive correlation with extractability for extractant.

Study on evaluation method of kernel migration of TRISO fuel for High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor

Fukaya, Yuji; Okita, Shoichiro; Sasaki, Koei; Ueta, Shohei; Goto, Minoru; Ohashi, Hirofumi; Yan, X.

Nuclear Engineering and Design, 399, p.112033_1 - 112033_9, 2022/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2022.112033

Kernel migration of TRi-structural ISOtropic (TRISO) fuel for High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) has been analyzed to investigate the potential dominating effects. Kernel migration is a major fuel failure mode and dominant to determine the lifetime of the fuel for High Temperature engineering Test Reactor (HTTR). However, this study shows that the result and reliability depend on the evaluation method. The evaluation method used in this study takes into account of actual distribution of Coated Fuel Particles (CFPs) and the resulting heterogeneous fuel temperature calculation with such distribution. The result shows that the Kernel Migration Rate (KMR) is predicted to be about 10% less compared with the most conservative evaluation.

Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors

Ohshima, Hiroyuki; Morishita, Masaki*; Aizawa, Kosuke; Ando, Masanori; Ashida, Takashi; Chikazawa, Yoshitaka; Doda, Norihiro; Enuma, Yasuhiro; Ezure, Toshiki; Fukano, Yoshitaka; et al.

Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors; JSME Series in Thermal and Nuclear Power Generation, Vol.3, 631 Pages, 2022/07

https://shop.elsevier.com/books/sodium-cooled-fast-reactors/morishita/978-0-12-824076-2

This book is a collection of the past experience of design, construction, and operation of two reactors, the latest knowledge and technology for SFR designs, and the future prospects of SFR development in Japan. It is intended to provide the perspective and the relevant knowledge to enable readers to become more familiar with SFR technology.

"Live-autoradiography" technique reveals genetic variation in the rate of Fe uptake by barley cultivars

Higuchi, Kyoko*; Kurita, Keisuke; Sakai, Takuro; Suzui, Nobuo*; Sasaki, Minori*; Katori, Maya*; Wakabayashi, Yuna*; Majima, Yuta*; Saito, Akihiro*; Oyama, Takuji*; et al.

Plants (Internet), 11(6), p.817_1 - 817_11, 2022/03

https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11060817

Genetic diversity in the rate of Fe uptake by plants has not been broadly surveyed among plant species or genotypes, although plants have developed various Fe acquisition mechanisms. We adopted the "Live-autoradiography" technique with radioactive Fe to directly evaluate the uptake rate of Fe by barley cultivars from a nutrient solution containing a very low concentration of Fe. Our observations revealed that the ability to acquire Fe from the low Fe solution was not always the sole determinant of tolerance to Fe deficiency among the barley genotypes.

Influence of distant scatterer on air kerma measurement in the evaluation of diagnostic X-rays using Monte Carlo simulation

Tominaga, Masahide*; Nagayasu, Yukari*; Sasaki, Motoharu*; Furuta, Takuya; Hayashi, Hiroaki*; Oita, Masataka*; Nishiyama, Yuichi*; Haga, Akihiro*

Radiological Physics and Technology, 14(4), p.381 - 389, 2021/12

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12194-021-00641-3

Due to recent advance of diagnostic radiology, the increase of diagnostic radiation exposure to patient becomes problem. Diagnostic Reference Levels has been released to optimized the radiation exposure to patients in Japan recently. The evaluation of entrance surface dose (ESD) is recommended to assess the dose level for general X-ray examination. The ESD can be easily evaluated by multiplying the backscatter factor of the patient body on the free-in-air air kerma. The air kerma free-in-air value used to estimate ESD may contain X-rays scattered from obstacles located at the time of measurement, which may induce non-minor error in assessments. We therefore studied the influence of scattered X-rays on air kerma measurement under various environments (distances, field sizes, and materials). It was found that the dependence on the X-ray energy and field size was different for different materials. The X-ray contamination can be ignored for all the materials when the distance to the scatterer exceeds 35 cm.

Basic policy for rational measures of radioactive waste processing and disposal; Results of studies for acceleration of waste processing

Nakagawa, Akinori; Oyokawa, Atsushi; Murakami, Masashi; Yoshida, Yukihiko; Sasaki, Toshiki; Okada, Shota; Nakata, Hisakazu; Sugaya, Toshikatsu; Sakai, Akihiro; Sakamoto, Yoshiaki

JAEA-Technology 2021-006, 186 Pages, 2021/06

JAEA-Technology-2021-006.pdf:54.45MB

Radioactive wastes generated from R&D activities have been stored in Japan Atomic Energy Agency. In order to reduce the risk of taking long time to process legacy wastes, countermeasures for acceleration of waste processing and disposal were studied. Work analysis of waste processing showed bottleneck processes, such as evaluation of radioactivity concentration, segregation of hazardous and combustibles materials. Concerning evaluation of radioactivity concentration, a radiological characterization method using a scaling factor and a nondestructive gamma-ray measurement should be developed. The number of radionuclides that are to be selected for the safety assessment of the trench type disposal facility can decrease using artificial barriers. Hazardous materials, will be identified using records and nondestructive inspection. The waste identified as hazardous will be unpacked and segregated. Preliminary calculations of waste acceptance criteria of hazardous material concentrations were conducted based on environmental standards in groundwater. The total volume of the combustibles will be evaluated using nondestructive inspection. The waste that does not comply with the waste acceptance criteria should be mixed with low combustible material waste such as dismantling concrete waste in order to satisfy the waste acceptance criteria on a disposal facility average. It was estimated that segregation throughput of compressed waste should be increased about 5 times more than conventional method by applying the countermeasures. Further study and technology development will be conducted to realize the plan.

Status of study of long-term assessment of transport of radioactive contaminants in the environment of Fukushima (FY2018) (Translated document)

Nagao, Fumiya; Niizato, Tadafumi; Sasaki, Yoshito; Ito, Satomi; Watanabe, Takayoshi; Dohi, Terumi; Nakanishi, Takahiro; Sakuma, Kazuyuki; Hagiwara, Hiroki; Funaki, Hironori; et al.

JAEA-Research 2020-007, 249 Pages, 2020/10

JAEA-Research-2020-007.pdf:15.83MB

The accident of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. occurred due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, Sanriku offshore earthquake, of 9.0 magnitude and the accompanying tsunami. As a result, large amount of radioactive materials was released into the environment. Under these circumstances, Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has been conducting "Long-term Assessment of Transport of Radioactive Contaminants in the Environment of Fukushima" concerning radioactive materials released in environment, especially migration behavior of radioactive cesium since November 2012. This report is a summary of the research results that have been obtained in environmental dynamics research conducted by JAEA in Fukushima Prefecture.

Fabrication of a novel magnetic topological heterostructure and temperature evolution of its massive Dirac cone

Hirahara, Toru*; Otrokov, M. M.*; Sasaki, Taisuke*; Sumida, Kazuki*; Tomohiro, Yuta*; Kusaka, Shotaro*; Okuyama, Yuma*; Ichinokura, Satoru*; Kobayashi, Masaki*; Takeda, Yukiharu; et al.

Nature Communications (Internet), 11, p.4821_1 - 4821_8, 2020/09

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18645-9

Thermodynamic interpretation of uranium(IV/VI) solubility in the presence of -isosaccharinic acid

Kobayashi, Taishi*; Sasaki, Takayuki*; Kitamura, Akira

Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics, 138, p.151 - 158, 2019/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jct.2019.06.006

The effect of -isosaccharinic acid (ISA) on the solubility and redox of tetravalent and hexavalent uranium (U(IV), U(VI)) was investigated in the hydrogen ion concentration (pH) range of 613 and at total ISA concentration ([ISA]) = 1010 mol/dm. The dependence of U(IV) solubility on pH and [ISA] suggested the existence of U(OH)(ISA) as a dominant species within the investigated pH range of 612. For the U(VI)-ISA system, UO(OH)(ISA) was suggested as a dominant species at pH 713. The formation constants of the U(IV)-ISA and U(VI)-ISA complexes were determined by least-squares fitting of the solubility data. The solubility of U(IV) and U(VI) in the presence of ISA and its effect on the redox behavior were thermodynamically interpreted based on the obtained constants.