Development of Kr adsorption process in pyroprocessing

Pyroprocessing has been investigated in Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) which reduces the accumulated spent fuel and increases the efficiency of fuel cycle. In head-end process of pyroprocessing, UO2 pellets are produced from a fuel bundle and various radioactive gases from a spent fuel are released during thermal treatment. Several methods such as cryogenic distillation, absorption using solvents, and adsorption on solids have been widely applied to Kr capture. Of these approaches, adsorption has many advantages such as its low energy-consumption processes and easy regeneration. In this study, Kr adsorption process was designed and tested using a packed bed column filled with adsorbents. The Kr adsorption performances were determined from breakthrough curves obtained from a gas chromatography, and the effects of adsorption conditions on capacities were investigated. It was found that Kr adsorption was highly influenced by Kr concentration and adsorption temperature