Reactor coolant crud control by particulate scavenging and filtration
AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorsArmand J. Panson, Michael Troy
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Colloidal corrosion products which are referred to as crud are removed from nuclear reactor coolant streams by suspending zirconium oxide particles in the coolant stream. The crud will be attracted to the surfaces of the zirconia particles and caused to agglomerate thereon. Such zirconia/crud agglomerates may be readily filtered from the coolant. By providing scavenger particles which comprise active areas of zirconia on basically magnetite particles, after the crud is agglomerated to the active zirconia surfaces, the agglomerates may be removed from the coolant utilizing magnetic separation principles.
Claims17
A method for decreasing the rate of deposition of colloidal corrosion products from a nuclear reactor coolant onto an internal reactor surface in contact with the coolant and having surface characteristics that attract such products said method comprising:
- providing a batch of particles that are suspensible in said coolant and which have active surfaces that possess surface characteristics that attract said corrosion products;
- and
- suspending said particles in said coolant whereby said corrosion products deposit on the surfaces of the particles.
A method for removing colloidal corrosion products from a nuclear reactor coolant comprising:
- providing a batch of particles that are suspensible in said coolant and which have surface characteristics that attract said corrosion products;
- suspending said particles in said coolant whereby said corrosion products deposit on the surfaces of said particles;
- and
- removing said particles and the corrosion products deposited thereon from said coolant.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.