Ultrasound-assisted removal of contaminants on stainless steel surfaces using nitrogen ultrafine bubble water

Nakahara, Masaumi; Watanabe, So; Kimura, Shuya; Sasaki, Misa*; Inagaki, Hiromitsu*; Moriguchi, Tetsuji*

Progress in Nuclear Energy, 172, p.105195_1 - 105195_8, 2024/07

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnucene.2024.105195

A novel removal technique with ultrafine bubbles has been proposed for decommissioning of nuclear facilities. The performance of removal technology with ultrafine bubbles was evaluated in the removal experiments with non-radioactive materials, simulated contaminants precipitated Co oxides. To investigate the influence of difference in the chemical forms, the decontamination experiments were carried out with the fuel pin end plugs contaminated radioactive materials in a hot cell.

Dissolution behavior and aging of iron-uranium oxide

Tonna, Ryutaro*; Sasaki, Takayuki*; Okamoto, Yoshihiro; Kobayashi, Taishi*; Akiyama, Daisuke*; Kirishima, Akira*; Sato, Nobuaki*

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 589, p.154862_1 - 154862_10, 2024/02

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2023.154862

The dissolution behavior of FeUO compounds formed by a high-temperature reaction of UO with iron, a stainless-steel component of reactor structural materials, was investigated under atmospheric conditions. The compounds were prepared in an electric furnace using UO and FeO as starting materials, and their solid states were analyzed using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. The concentration of nuclides dissolved in water was examined by performing static leaching tests of FeUO compounds for up to three months. A redox reaction was proposed to occur between trivalent Fe and pentavalent U ions in the early stage of FeUO dissolution. It was thermodynamically deduced that the reduced divalent Fe ion was finally oxidized into a trivalent ion in the presence of dissolved oxygen, and iron hydroxide limited the solubility of Fe. Meanwhile, the concentration of hexavalent U (i.e., uranyl ion) was limited owing to the presence of secondary minerals such as metaschoepite and sodium uranate and subsequently decreased, possibly owing to sorption on Fe oxides, for example. The concentrations of multivalent ions of fission products, such as Ru and Ce, also decreased, likely for the reason above. By contrast, the concentration of soluble Cs ions did not decrease. The validity of this interpretation was supported by comparing the results with the dissolution behavior of a reference sample (Fe-free UO).

Raman identification and characterization of chemical components included in simulated nuclear fuel debris synthesized from uranium, stainless steel, and zirconium

Kusaka, Ryoji; Kumagai, Yuta; Watanabe, Masayuki; Sasaki, Takayuki*; Akiyama, Daisuke*; Sato, Nobuaki*; Kirishima, Akira*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 60(5), p.603 - 613, 2023/05

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2022.2128460

Structure, stability, and actinide leaching of simulated nuclear fuel debris synthesized from UO, Zr, and stainless-steel

Kirishima, Akira*; Akiyama, Daisuke*; Kumagai, Yuta; Kusaka, Ryoji; Nakada, Masami; Watanabe, Masayuki; Sasaki, Takayuki*; Sato, Nobuaki*

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 567, p.153842_1 - 153842_15, 2022/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2022.153842

To understand the chemical structure and stability of nuclear fuel debris consisting of UO, Zr, and Stainless Steel (SUS) generated by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in Japan in 2011, simulated debris of the UO-SUS-Zr system and other fundamental component systems were synthesized and characterized. The simulated debris were synthesized by heat treatment for 1 to 12 h at 1600C, in inert (Ar) or oxidative (Ar + 2% O) atmospheres. Np and Am tracers were doped for the leaching tests of these elements and U from the simulated debris. The characterization of the simulated debris was conducted by XRD, SEM-EDX, Raman spectroscopy, and Mssbauer spectroscopy, which provided the major uranium phase of the UO -SUS-Zr debris was the solid solution of UO (s.s.) with Zr(IV) and Fe(II) regardless of the treatment atmosphere. The long-term immersion test of the simulated debris in pure water and that in seawater revealed the macro scale crystal structure of the simulated debris was chemically very stable in the wet condition for a year or more. Furthermore, the leaching test results showed that the actinide leaching ratios of U, Np, Am from the UO-SUS-Zr debris were very limited and less than 0.08 % for all the experiments in this study.

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.

The Chemistry of thorium, plutonium and MA

Sato, Nobuaki*; Kirishima, Akira*; Watanabe, Masayuki; Sasaki, Takayuki*; Uehara, Akihiro*; Takeda, Shino*; Kitatsuji, Yoshihiro; Otobe, Haruyoshi; Kobayashi, Taishi*

The Chemistry of Thorium, Plutonium and MA, 254 Pages, 2022/03

The chemistry of nuclear materials such as Thorium (Part 1) and Plutonium (Part 2) was described in relation from the fundamentals on solid chemistry and solution chemistry to the practicals on the experiment and evaluation method in detail. Minor actinides such as Neptunium, Americium, Curium and Protoactinium, was introduced the basics on the solid and solution chemistry.

Radioactivity and radionuclides in deciduous teeth formed before the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

Takahashi, Atsushi*; Chiba, Mirei*; Tanahara, Akira*; Aida, Jun*; Shimizu, Yoshinaka*; Suzuki, Toshihiko*; Murakami, Shinobu*; Koarai, Kazuma; Ono, Takumi*; Oka, Toshitaka; et al.

Scientific Reports (Internet), 11(1), p.10355_1 - 10355_11, 2021/05

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-89910-0

Real-time dosimetry system based on an optical fiber-coupled microsized photostimulable phosphor for stereotactic body radiation therapy

Yada, Ryuichi*; Maenaka, Kazusuke*; Miyamoto, Shuji*; Okada, Go*; Sasakura, Aki*; Ashida, Motoi*; Adachi, Masashi*; Sato, Tatsuhiko; Wang, T.*; Akasaka, Hiroaki*; et al.

Medical Physics, 47(10), p.5235 - 5249, 2020/10

https://doi.org/10.1002/mp.14383

The dosimeter system is capable of real-time, accurate, and precise measurement under stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) conditions. The probe is smaller than a conventional dosimeter, has excellent spatial resolution, and can be valuable in SBRT with a steep dose distribution over a small field. The developed PSP dosimeter system appears to be suitable for in vivo SBRT dosimetry.

New precise measurement of muonium hyperfine structure interval at J-PARC

Ueno, Yasuhiro*; Aoki, Masaharu*; Fukao, Yoshinori*; Higashi, Yoshitaka*; Higuchi, Takashi*; Iinuma, Hiromi*; Ikedo, Yutaka*; Ishida, Katsuhiko*; Ito, Takashi; Iwasaki, Masahiko*; et al.

Hyperfine Interactions, 238(1), p.14_1 - 14_6, 2017/11

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10751-016-1381-7

Interaction of rare earth elements and components of the Horonobe deep groundwater

Kirishima, Akira*; Kuno, Atsushi*; Amamiya, Hiroki; Kubota, Takumi*; Kimuro, Shingo*; Amano, Yuki; Miyakawa, Kazuya; Iwatsuki, Teruki; Mizuno, Takashi; Sasaki, Takayuki*; et al.

Chemosphere, 168, p.798 - 806, 2017/02

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.10.133

For better understanding of the migration behavior of minor actinides (MA) in deep groundwater, the interaction of doped rare earth elements (REEs) and components in Horonobe deep groundwater was studied. Appx. 10 ppb of rare earth elements, i.e., Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Er, Tm and Yb were doped to the sample groundwater collected from a packed sections in borehole drilled from 140 m depth experiment drift of Horonobe underground research laboratory (URL), Hokkaido, Japan. Then, that groundwater was sequentially filtrated by 0.2 micron pore filter, 10 kDa, 3 kDa and 1 kDa of nominal molecular weight limit (NMWL) ultrafilters by keeping inert condition. After that, the filtrate solutions were analyzed by ICP-MS to determine the concentrations of retained REEs at each filtration steps, while the used filters were analyzed by the neutron activation analysis (NAA) and TOF-SIMS element mapping to know the amount and chemical speciation of trapped fraction of the REEs on each filter. A remarkable relation between the retention ratios of REEs in the filtrate solutions and the ionic radius was observed, i.e., smaller rare earth element solves more in liquid phase under the Horonobe groundwater condition. NAA and TOF-SIMS analyses revealed that certain portions of REEs were trapped by 0.2 micron pore filters as rare earth phosphates which corresponded with the predicted predominant species by a chemical equilibrium calculation for the Horonobe groundwater condition, while small portions of colloidal REEs were trapped by 10 kDa and 3 kDa NMWL ultrafilters. The result suggested that phosphate anion plays an important role in the chemical behavior of REEs in saline (seawater based) groundwater, which could be referred for the prediction of migration behavior of trivalent actinide released from the repository of radioactive waste in far future.