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Electrochemical Decontamination of Irradiated Nuclear Graphite of Uranium-Graphite Nuclear Reactors

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Work has been performed as part of the implementation of measures to reduce the hazard of irradiated graphite during the decommissioning of uranium-graphite nuclear reactors. Electrochemical decontamination is studied as a method of purifying the indicated wastes from radioactive contamination. The results of experiments on removing 60Co,134,137Cs, 154Eu, and 241Am from the surface of irradiated graphite under different conditions are presented. It is shown that electrochemical decontamination of irradiated nuclear graphite in an acidic medium makes it possible to reduce the activity of 60Co by a factor of 2–10 and Cs by a factor of 7–100 without gaseous products of reaction being formed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Experimental-Demonstration Center for the Decommissioning of Uranium-Graphite Reactors, Seversk, Tomsk Oblast, Russia

    A. O. Pavlyuk, E. V. Bespala, S. G. Kotlyarevskii & V. S. Zagumennov

  2. Frumkin Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences (IPCE RAS), Moscow, Russia

    E. V. Zakharova, A. G. Volkova & N. I. Rodygina

Authors
  1. A. O. Pavlyuk
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  2. E. V. Bespala
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  3. S. G. Kotlyarevskii
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  4. V. S. Zagumennov
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  5. E. V. Zakharova
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  6. A. G. Volkova
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  7. N. I. Rodygina
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. O. Pavlyuk.

Additional information

Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 128, No. 1, pp. 23–28, January, 2020.

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Pavlyuk, A.O., Bespala, E.V., Kotlyarevskii, S.G. et al. Electrochemical Decontamination of Irradiated Nuclear Graphite of Uranium-Graphite Nuclear Reactors. At Energy 128, 24–29 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-020-00645-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-020-00645-z

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