Absorption of airborne molecular iodine by water sprays

A computer model, I2WASH, which accounts for the effect of hydrolysis reactions between molecular iodine and water, has been developed to predict the rate of removal of gaseous molecular iodine by water sprays. It has been shown that the hydrolysis reactions can affect the concentration driving force of mass transfer for molecular iodine absorption. Thus, factors that affect the hydrolysis kinetics, such as spray solution pH, iodine concentration, and temperature, should be considered in the design of a well-based absorption model. The described model also includes the effects of spray drop-size distribution, convective heat transfer, droplet evaporation or water condensation, decay heating, and ventilation air flow through the containment. The model was originally developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in 1985 for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Severe Accident Sequence Analysis program and has been improved to assist in a comprehensive probability risk assessment of the Savannah River Plant (SRP). Results obtained using the model are compared with those of the Containment Systems Experiments conducted at Pacific Northwest Laboratories (PNL) in 1970. An improvement over the earlier model is indicated at room temperatures, but accuracy decreases as the temperature rises. The decreased agreement at high temperature is partially due to an incomplete knowledge of the temperature effects on iodine hydrolysis reactions. The results of the I2WASH model for a postulated catastrophic accident at SRP show that ∼85% of the molecular iodine will be captured by the sprays at a buffered pH of 10.0, and ∼52% will be captured at a buffered pH of 7.0. The model is believed to be a significant improvement over (and more realistic than) other models