Influences of impurities on iodine removal efficiency of silver alumina adsorbent

Silver impregnated alumina adsorbent (AgA), which was developed for iodine removal from off-gas of nuclear power and reprocessing plants has been tested laying emphasis on investigation of the influences gaseous impurities have on adsorbent chemical stability and iodine removal efficiency. The influences of the major impurities such as nitrogen oxides and water vapor were checked on the chemical state of impregnated silver compound (AgNO3) and decontamination factor (DF) value. At 150 degrees C, a forced air flow with 1.5% nitrogen oxide (NO/NO2=1/1) reduced silver nitrate to metallic silver, whereas pure air and air with 1.5% NO2 had no effect on the chemical state of silver. Metallic silver showed a lower DF value for methyl iodide in pure air (without impurities) than silver nitrate and the lower DF of metallic silver was improved when impurities were added. At 40 degrees C, a forced air flow with 1.5% nitrogen dioxide (NO2) increased the AgA weight by about 20%, which was caused by the adsorption of nitric acid solution on the AgA surface. AgA with l0wt% silver showed higher weight increase than that with 24wt% silver which had lower porosity. Adsorption of acid solution lowered the DF value, which would be due to the hindrance of contact between methyl iodide and silver. The influences of other gaseous impurities were also investigated and AgA showed superior characteristics at high temperatures. 14 refs., 11 figs