Monitoring Xenon Capture in a Metal Organic Framework Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Hunter B Andrews; Praveen K Thallapally; Alexander J Robinson

doi:10.3390/mi14010082

Monitoring Xenon Capture in a Metal Organic Framework Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Micromachines (Basel). 2022 Dec 29;14(1):82. doi: 10.3390/mi14010082.

Authors

Hunter B Andrews¹, Praveen K Thallapally², Alexander J Robinson²

Affiliations

¹ Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA.
² Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA.

Abstract

Molten salt reactor operation will necessitate circulation of a cover gas to remove certain evolved fission products and maintain an inert atmosphere. The cover gas leaving the reactor core is expected to contain both noble and non-noble gases, aerosols, volatile species, tritium, and radionuclides and their daughters. To remove these radioactive gases, it is necessary to develop a robust off-gas system, along with novel sensors to monitor the gas stream and the treatment system performance. In this study, a metal organic framework (MOF) was engineered for the capture of Xe, a major contributor to the off-gas source term. The engineered MOF column was tested with a laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) sensor for noble gas monitoring. The LIBS sensor was used to monitor breakthrough tests with various Xe, Kr, and Ar mixtures to determine the Xe selectivity of the MOF column. This study offers an initial demonstration of the feasibility of monitoring off-gas treatment systems using a LIBS sensor to aid in the development of new capture systems for molten salt reactors.

Keywords: breakthrough tests; fission gases; laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS); metal organic framework (MOF); noble gases; off-gas sensor; radionuclides; selectivity.

Grants and funding

This work was funded by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, Advanced Reactor Development Program, Molten Salt Reactor Program. Statement: This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle LLC under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan).