Radioactive Spent Activated Carbon Treatment

Activated Carbon for Air Filter Unit

The Air Cleaning Unit installed in nuclear power plants removes the radioactive particles such as ¹³¹I, H-3 or C-14 which are generated during the operation.
Approx. 50 sets of Air Cleaning Unit are installed in one nuclear power plant. The filling amount of activated carbon is approx. 70 tons (700 drums).

Needs and Target

▣ Needs and Target
- The Radioactive Spent Activated Carbon is a kind of by-product from the air conditioning system of domestic nuclear power plants which contains H-3 or C-14 that has longer half-life of 12 years (H-3) or 5,730 years (C-14), and difficult to be stored in a radioactive disposal site due to the physicochemical characteristics.
- There has been a need to develop the technology which can treat the Radioactive Spent Activated Carbon to secure the radioactive waste site and save the cost of treating the waste.
- The target is to put the technology to a practical use by research & development through treatment process deduction and verification of pilot scale.

▣ R&D Status of Commercialization in Korea (Issues of R&D)
- Difficult to get relevant information and verification of the treatment technology
- Absence of radioactive spent activated carbon treatment technology
- Limits the C-14 & H-3 concentration of clearance level(H-3: 100 Bq/g, C-14: 1 Bq/g)

R&D History

Technology Outline

- Treat the Radioactive Spent Activated Carbon under the maximum permissible radioactivity concentration (H-3: 100 Bq/g, C-14: 1 Bq/g)
- Remove the physically bonded contaminants by vacuum desorption and absorb oxygen on the surface of activated carbon pores (partial oxidation treatment).
- Remove the chemically bonded contaminants in radioactive carbon compounds such as ¹⁴CO₂ and ¹⁴CH₄.
- capture and store the tritium in the form of condensate. - the contaminated carbon compounds such as CO, CH₄ and etc Immobilize in the form of CaCO₃ through a catalyst.