Characteristics of lagoon sludge waste generated from an uranium conversion plant

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has launched a decommissioning program of the uranium conversion plant. The sludge waste, which was generated during the operation of the plant and stored in the lagoon, was characterized for the development of the treatment process. The physical properties were measured and chemical compositions and radiological properties analyzed. The main compounds of the sludge were ammonium nitrate, sodium nitrate, calcium nitrate, and calcium carbonate. All heavy radioactive elements such as uranium, thorium and ²²⁶Ra were precipitated and deposited at the bottom, and were not dissolved in the concentrated nitrate solution. A possible flow-scheme for processing is presented. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The determination of bound nitrogen in uranium hexafluoride with an ammonia electrode

Uranium hexafluoride reacts with nitrosyl fluoride (NOF), nitryl fluoride (NO₂F), and nitrogen oxides to form solid compounds such as nitrosyl heptafluorouranate (NOUF₇) and nitryl heptafluorouranate (NO₂UF₇). Since these compounds are undesirable impurities in uranium hexafluoride, a method has been developed for the determination of these nitrogen oxyfluorides in uranium hexafluoride. Uranium hexafluoride is hydrolyzed in a potassium permanganate solution which converts the uranium hexafluoride to uranyl fluoride and the nitrogen oxyfluorides to nitric acid. The nitrate is reduced with aluminum powder to ammonia, which is then measured with an ammonia electrode in a basic solution. The method is relatively interference-free because the electrode is a gas-sensing device. The detection limit is 0.8 μg bound N/g U, and the precision at 3 μg bound N/g U is ± 16%.     

Determination of mechanism of thermal decomposition of Mg,Ca and Zn hydrazidocarbonates by evolved gas analysis

Hydrazo-carbonates are complex compounds and products of the reactions between solutions of metal ion and solutions of hydrazido-carbonic acid. The decomposition of Mg(N₂H₃COO)₂. 2H₂O, Ca(N₂H₃COO)₂·H₂O and Zn(N₂H₃COO)₂ in inert atmosphere were studied. By classical thermoanalytical methods and data on the composition of the intermediates and final products the mechanisms of the thermal decomposition could not be resolved therefore also evolved gas analysis was used (EGA). The first step of thermal decomposition of Ca and Mg hydrazidocarbonates is dehydration. With the heating the decomposition of the hydrazido-carbonates proceeds under evolution of the ammonia, carbon monoxide and/or nitrogen and carbon dioxide giving as the intermediates for calcium and magnesium compounds the corresponding carbonates oxides as the final products. The zinc compound decomposes to the oxide, ZnO but also zinc cyanamide was detected during to the thermal treatment.     

Thermal decomposition of [Cd(NH<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>6</Subscript>](NO<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>2</Subscript>

Thermal decomposition of [Cd(NH₃)₆](NO₃)₂ was studied by thermogravimetry (TG) with simultaneous differential thermal analysis (SDTA) for two samples and at two different sets of measurement parameters. The gaseous products of the decomposition were on-line identified by evolved gas analysis (EGA) with a quadruple mass spectrometer (QMS). The decomposition of the title compound proceeds, for both cases, in the three main stages. In the first stage, deammination of [Cd(NH₃)₆](NO₃)₂ to [Cd(NH₃)](NO₃)₂ undergoes by three steps and 5/6 of all NH₃ molecules are liberated. At second stage the liberation of residual 1/6NH₃ molecules and the formation of Cd(NO₃)₂ undergoes. However, during this process simultaneously a two-step oxidation of a part of ammonia molecules also takes place. In a first step as a result a mixture of ammonia, water vapour and nitrogen is formatted. At the second step, subsequent oxidation of a next part of NH₃ molecules undergoes. As a result, a mixture of nitrogen oxide, nitrogen and water vapour is formatted, what for these both steps clearly indicates the EGA analysis. The third stage of the thermal decomposition is connected with the melting and subsequent decomposition of residual Cd(NO₃)₂ to oxygen, nitrogen dioxide and solid CdO. Additionally, third sample was measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and the results are fully consistent with those obtained by TG.     

Role of α-Sites in the selective catalytic reduction of NO x with ammonia over Fe-ZSM-5 catalysts

The catalytic properties of Fe-ZSM-5 zeolites with different iron contents have been investigated in the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO _x with ammonia. The observed catalytic properties the zeolites are correlated with the concentration of the iron-containing sites that are stabilized in the zeolite and effect N₂O decomposition (??-sites). The catalysts activated at a high temperature to increase the ??-site concentration (by a factor of 5?C10) are more active in NO _x SCR with ammonia than the unactivated samples. However, the difference between the activities of the activated and unactivated catalysts is well below the difference between the ??-site concentrations in these catalysts. The nonlinear relationship between these parameters is evidence that the ??-sites in Fe-ZSM-5 is not the only factor determining the activity of Fe-ZSM-5 in NO _x SCR with ammonia. The activated catalysts show a low activity in nonselective ammonia oxidation and, accordingly, a high selectivity in the target process at high temperatures.     

Stabilization of ammonium dinitramide in the liquid phase

The kinetics of accumulation of the main products of thermal decomposition of ammonium dinitramide in the melt was investigated. The isotope composition of nitrogen-containing gases evolved by the decomposition of ¹⁵NH₄N(NO₂)₂ and NH₄ ¹⁵N(NO₂)₂ was found. Easily oxidized salts, amines, amides, iodides, and other compounds soluble in the melt interfere with the liquid-phase decomposition of ammonium dinitramide.     

Kinetics and mechanism of thermal decomposition of hydroxylammonium nitrate

The kinetics of thermal decomposition of melted hydroxylammonium nitrate have been investigated by the rate of heat production in the temperature range 84.8–120.9°C. The decomposition proceeds with autocatalysis and up to 60 % of conversion the rate of the process increases proportionally to the square of the degree of decomposition. The initial rate is proportional to the square of the concentration of HNO₃ formed due to dissociation of the salt. The activation energy of this process is 15.3±1.8 kcal/mol. It is suggested that the initial stage the process proceeds via interaction between N₂O₃ and NH₃OH⁺, whereas the subsequent acceleration is due to oxidation of NH₃OH⁺ by nitrogen oxides formed as well as by nitrous acid.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 11, pp. 1897–1901, November, 1993.     

Widening Synthesis Bottlenecks: Realization of Ultrafast and Continuous‐Flow Synthesis of High‐Silica Zeolite SSZ‐13 for NOx Removal

Characteristics of zeolite formation, such as being kinetically slow and thermodynamically metastable, are the main bottlenecks that obstruct a fast zeolite synthesis. We present an ultrafast route, the first of its kind, to synthesize high‐silica zeolite SSZ‐13 in 10 min, instead of the several days usually required. Fast heating in a tubular reactor helps avoid thermal lag, and the synergistic effect of addition of a SSZ‐13 seed, choice of the proper aluminum source, and employment of high temperature prompted the crystallization. Thanks to the ultra‐short period of synthesis, we established a continuous‐flow preparation of SSZ‐13. The fast‐synthesized SSZ‐13, after copper‐ion exchange, exhibits outstanding performance in the ammonia selective catalytic reduction (NH₃‐SCR) of nitrogen oxides (NO_x), showing it to be a superior catalyst for NO_x removal. Our results indicate that the formation of high‐silica zeolites can be extremely fast if bottlenecks are effectively widened.     

Thermal decomposition and creation of reactive solid surfaces: IV. effect of NH4NO3 inclusion on the thermal genesis of chromia catalyst from a parent gel

The effect of NO₃^? contaminant on the thermal decomposition of chromia gel has been thoroughly investigated. NO₃^?free gel, prepared by treating a dilute solution of chromium nitrate with aqueous ammonia, and a simulated NO₃^?-contaminated one, obtained by mechanically mixing calculated amounts of the pure gel and NH₄NO₃ (4.7–33.3% by weight), have been subjected to thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses. The thermal behaviour thus monitored has been physicochemically characterized by means of infrared and X-ray diffraction techniques. The results obtained have revealed a notable disparity between the reaction pathways conceded by the pure and the contaminated gel yielding chromias of different properties.     

Influences of aging on thermal decomposition mechanism of high performance oxidizer ammonium dinitramide

Ammonium dinitramide (ADN) is one of the several promising new solid propellant oxidizers. ADN is of interest because its oxygen balance and energy content are high, and it also halogen-free. One of the most important characteristics of a propellant oxidizer, however, is stability and ADN is known to degrade to ammonium nitrate (AN) during storage, which will affect its performance. This study focused on the effects of aging on the thermal decomposition mechanism of ADN. The thermal behaviors of ADN and ADN/AN mixtures were studied, as were the gases evolved during their decomposition, using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry–differential thermal analysis-infrared spectrometry (TG–DTA-IR), and thermogravimetry–differential thermal analysis-mass spectrometry (TG–DTA-MS). The results of these analyses demonstrated that the decomposition of ADN occurs via a series of distinct stages in the condensed phase. The gases evolved from ADN decomposition were N₂O, NO₂, N₂, and H₂O. In contrast, ADN mixed with AN (to simulate aging) did not exhibit the same initial reaction. We conclude that aging inhibits early stage, low temperature decomposition reactions of ADN. Two possible reasons were proposed, these being either a decrease in the acidity of the material due to the presence of AN, or inhibition of the acidic dissociation of dinitramic acid by NO ₃ ^? .     

The effect of carbamide on the composition of gas phase formed upon thermal destruction of graphite nitrate

The composition of gas evolved upon thermal decomposition of individual and carbamidemodified graphite nitrates was determined. The addition of carbamide was shown to result in the 2—4-fold decrease in the content of nitrogen oxides and the 2—5-fold increase in the content of carbon monoxide. The content of nitrogen oxides in the gas phase decreased when the HNO₃ : (NH₂)₂CO molar ratio was equal to 1 : (0.4—1). Combination of carbamide addition with catalytic afterburning provides the 5-fold decrease in the gas-phase amount of nitrogen oxides at the minimum CO content.     

Investigation of the Effect of Various Substituents on the Density of Tetrazolium Nitrate Salts as Green Energetic Materials

The substitution effect of various functional groups such as –NO₂, –CN, –N₃, –NF₂, and –NH₂ on the density of tetrazolium nitrate salts is investigated through multiple linear regression method. The methodology of this work introduces a new model, which related density of tetrazolium nitrate salts to the number of fluorine and nitrogen atoms, the presence of NF₂ groups, NO₂ groups, as well as CH₃ groups in the structural formula. The new reliable correlation shows that the NF₂ and NO₂ group can cause increasing the density of tetrazolium nitrate salts, especially NO₂, whereas the CH₃ group can decrease their density. The new proposed relationship has good reliability and predictability, so it can be used to design new rich nitrogen compounds based on tetrazolium nitrate salts as green energetic materials. These results are also tested for N,N′‐azo‐1,2,4‐triazolium nitrate salts, which is caused to derive another correlation. This correlation shows that the presence of NF₂ functional groups increases the density of N,N′‐azo‐1,2,4‐triazolium nitrate salts as well as the value of n_O/n_C.     

Solubility in the diagonal sections of the 2KCl + Ca(NO<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>2</Subscript> ⇆ 2KNO<Subscript>3</Subscript> + CaCl<Subscript>2</Subscript>–H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O system

Solubility data in the diagonal sections of the quaternary reciprocal 2KCl + Ca(NO₃)₂ → 2KNO₃ + CaCl₂–H₂O system at 25 and 15°C are presented. It has been shown that the quaternary system has no stable diagonal at the studied temperatures, but contains a stable pair of salts, namely, potassium nitrate and calcium chloride. The obtained data can be used to optimize the thermal and concentrational parameters of the synthesis of potassium nitrate from calcium nitrate and potassium chloride.     

NO x Removal Characteristics in Plasma Plus Catalyst Hybrid Process

NO_x removal characteristics and NO conversion trends were investigated for plasma process, catalytic process, and plasma catalytic hybrid process. In the experiments, we studied effects of the flow rate and the carrier gas on the NO conversion in the plasma process, and effects of ammonia concentration and temperature on the NO_x removal in the catalytic process. We also investigated the synergetic effect of a plasma-catalytic hybrid process. Dielectric barrier discharge was combined with V₂O₅–WO₃/TiO₂ catalyst for removing nitrogen oxides. The maximum conversions of nitrogen oxides were approximately 52, 80, and 98% at the temperature of 100, 200, and 300°C, respectively. The optimal energy density, ammonia concentration, and ratio of nitrogen oxides exist for the highest removal of nitrogen oxides in the plasma catalytic hybrid process.     

A mechanism for the photochemical transformation of nitrate in snow

Photochemical reactions of trace compounds in snow have important implications for the composition of the atmospheric boundary layer in snow-covered regions and for the interpretation of concentration profiles in snow and ice regarding the composition of the past atmosphere. One of the prominent reactions is the photolysis of nitrate, which leads to the formation of OH radicals in the snow and to the release of reactive nitrogen compounds, like nitrogen oxides (NO and NO₂) and nitrous acid (HONO) to the atmosphere. We performed photolysis experiments using artificial snow, containing variable initial concentrations of nitrate and nitrite, to investigate the reaction mechanism responsible for the formation of the reactive nitrogen compounds. Increasing the initial nitrite concentrations resulted in the formation of significant amounts of nitrate in the snow. A possible precursor of nitrate is NO₂, which can be transformed into nitrate either by the attack of a hydroxy radical or the hydrolysis of the dimer (N₂O₄). A mechanism for the transformation of the nitrogen-containing compounds in snow was developed, assuming that all reactions took place in a quasi-liquid layer (QLL) at the surface of the ice crystals. The unknown photolysis rates of nitrate and nitrite and the rates of NO and NO₂ transfer from the snow to the gas phase, respectively, were adjusted to give an optimum fit of the calculated time series of nitrate, nitrite, and gas phase NO_x with respect to the experimental data. Best agreement was obtained with a ∼25 times faster photolysis rate of nitrite compared to nitrate. The formation of NO₂ is probably the dominant channel for the nitrate photolysis. We used the reaction mechanism further to investigate the release of NO_x and HONO under natural conditions. We found that NO_x emissions are by far dominated by the release of NO₂. The release of HONO to the gas phase depends on the pH of the snow and the HONO transfer rate to the gas phase. However, due to the small amounts of nitrite produced under natural conditions, the formation of HONO in the QLL is probably negligible. We suggest that observed emissions of HONO from the surface snow are dominated by the heterogeneous formation of HONO in the firn air. The reaction of NO₂ on the surfaces of the ice crystals is the most likely HONO source to the gas phase.     

Simultaneous TG/DTG–DSC–FTIR characterization of collagen in inert and oxidative atmospheres

In this paper, a TG/DTG–DSC–FTIR study of type I collagen extracted from bovine Achilles tendon both in inert (nitrogen) and oxidative atmosphere (synthetic air and oxygen) from room temperature to 700 °C was performed. The thermal analysis results have shown that after initial dehydration, collagen exhibits a single decomposition step in nitrogen (due to pyrolysis), while in air and oxygen two steps are observed due to thermo-oxidative decomposition, the latter being highly exothermic. The CO₂ bands dominate the FTIR spectra of evolved gases in all atmospheres (especially in air and oxygen), along with the characteristic bands of ammonia, water, HNCO, methane. In nitrogen, the bands of pyrrole, HCN, and ethane were also identified, while in oxidative atmospheres, nitrogen oxides and CO are released. A study was also performed by comparing the DTG and gas evolution curves observed for the three atmospheres.     

Thermal Behaviour of RE(His)(NO3)3⋅H2O

The thermal decomposition behaviour of the complexes of rare earth metals with histidine: RE(His)(NO₃)₃H₂O (RE=La—Nd, Sm—Lu and Y; His=histidine) was investigated by means of TG-DTG techniques. The results indicated that the thermal decomposition processes of the complexes can be divided into three steps. The first step is the loss of crystal water molecules or part of the histidine molecules from the complexes. The second step is the formation of alkaline salts or mixtures of nitrates with alkaline salts after the histidine has been completely lost from the complexes. The third step is the formation of oxides or mixtures of oxides with alkaline salts. The results relating to the three steps indicate that the stabilities of the complexes increase from La to Lu.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Potentials of gas chromatography in the determination of reaction products in the catalytic oxidation of ammonia to nitrogen(II) oxide

Peculiarities of the determination of nitrogen oxides and ammonia in the reaction products of ammonia oxidation are studied by gas chromatography. Particular attention was paid to the sampling problem. It is shown that in the course of the transportation of samples containing nitrogen(II) oxide and oxygen, the oxidation of nitrogen(II) oxide to nitrogen(IV) oxide takes place in the vapor phase. The conditions were found for suppressing or even eliminating the gas-phase reaction of NO oxidation to NO₂. A procedure for the gas-chromatographic analysis of the reaction products in the catalytic oxidation of ammonia is proposed using several samples and packed columns, including the determination of NO with respect to NO₂ formed in the gas-phase oxidation of NO.     

Kinetics of nitric oxide oxidation

Nitrogen oxides are nowadays a subject of global concern. Several types of nitrogen oxides exist in the environment: N₂O, NO, NO₂, N₂O₃, N₂O₄, N₂O₅. The abbreviation NO _x usually relates to nitric oxide NO, nitrogen dioxide NO₂, and nitrous oxide N₂O. The first two are harmful pollutants for both environment and human health, whereas the third is one of the greenhouse gases. Implementation of stringent NO _x emission regulations requires the development of new NO _x removal technologies from exhaust gases. One of many proposals for NO _x emission reduction is the application of an oxidizing agent which would transform NO _x to higher nitrogen oxides with higher solubility in water. The main objective of the paper was to present the rate constant of nitric oxide oxidation, determined in our studies.     

Thermal behaviour of [Mg(DMSO)<Subscript>6</Subscript>](NO<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>2</Subscript>

Polymorphism and thermal decomposition of [Mg(DMSO)₆](NO₃)₂, where DMSO =(CH₃)₂SO, were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG). The gaseous products of the decomposition were on-line identified by a quadruple mass spectrometer (QMS). Three phase transitions have been detected for this compound in the temperature range of 95–370 K between the following solid phases: stable KIb↔stable KIa at T _C3=195 K, metastable KII↔supercooled K0 at T _C2=230 K and stable KIa→stable K0 at T _C1=337 K. Thermal decomposition of the title compound proceeds in three main stages. In the first stage, which starts just above ca. 380 K, and is continued up to ca. 540 K, the compound loses in two steps four DMSO molecules per one formula unit and undergoes into [Mg(DMSO)₂](NO₃)₂. The second stage starts just immediately after liberating four DMSO ligands and is connected with the decomposition of [Mg(DMSO)₂](NO₃)₂ and the formation of a mixture of solid anhydrous magnesium sulfate, magnesium nitrate and magnesium oxide and also a mixture of gaseous products of the DMSO and Mg(NO₃)₂ decomposition. The third and the last stage corresponds to the decomposition of not decomposed yet magnesium nitrate and formation of magnesium oxide, nitrogen oxides and oxygen.