DERIvATE: Deployable ElectRochemIcally Assisted Tritium dEtection

衍生：可部署的电化学辅助氚检测

• 批准号: NE/W007320/1
• 负责人: Michael Aspinall
• 金额: $ 5.62万
• 依托单位: Lancaster University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FW007320%2F1
• 关键词: DERIvATE; Deployable; ElectRochemIcally; Assisted; Tritium

Tritium is a radioactive hydrogen isotope made in nuclear reactors, often present as tritiated water (HTO) in spent fuel cooling ponds, reprocessing effluents and waste treatment facilities. HTO behaves identically to water, i.e., it is highly mobile in the environment and human tissue and can be an indicator of significantly greater radiotoxins (Cs-137, Sr-90) migrating in the ground. Thus, there are pressing safety, environmental and economic needs for fast, accurate and precise measurement of tritium around nuclear sites and in the waste-streams arising from their operation and decommissioning.Tritium is a low-energy beta emitter. It is therefore not easily detected based on the radiation it emits and its half-life is too long (12.3 years) to wait for it to decay away. Lancaster University have devised a novel technique whereby tritium is selectively and reversibly sequestered by palladium from HTO, and pre-concentrated to a level detected easily by in-situ scintillation counting. Collaborators, Hybrid Instruments Ltd., have recently developed two prototype devices that utilise this technique. Building on this established partnership, this project aims to embed a digital researcher to develop the two prototype instruments so that they can be operated as a digital network of in-situ monitors for automated, fast and interference-free waterborne tritium monitoring.Research beneficiaries include the UK nuclear industry (site licensees and their supply chain), regulators, the public and academia. The knowledge generated will allow industry to meet regulatory requirements more effectively. Current monitoring involves ex-situ sample analysis that is slow and expensive. The proposed technology will provide regulators with easily deployable and cost-effective tools, reducing the burden to taxpayers, enabling faster detection and greater public confidence in land monitoring in and around nuclear sites.Keywords: tritium; instrumentation; electrochemistry; real-time; groundwater monitoring.

氚是核反应堆中制造的一种放射性氢同位素，通常以氚水(HTO)的形式存在于乏燃料冷却池、后处理污水和废物处理设施中。HTO的行为与水相同，即它在环境和人体组织中具有高度的移动性，可以作为更大的放射性毒素(Cs-137、Sr-90)在地下迁移的指示器。因此，在安全、环境和经济方面都迫切需要快速、准确和精确地测量核电站周围及其运行和退役所产生的废气中的氚。氚是一种低能量的贝塔排放物。因此，根据它发出的辐射很难检测到它，而且它的半衰期太长(12.3年)，不能等待它衰变。兰卡斯特大学设计了一种新的技术，利用钯从HTO中选择性地和可逆地隔离氚，并将其预浓缩到原位闪烁计数容易检测到的水平。合作者，混合仪器有限公司，最近开发了两个利用这种技术的原型设备。在这一已建立的伙伴关系的基础上，该项目旨在嵌入一名数字研究人员来开发这两台原型仪器，以便它们能够作为自动、快速和无干扰的水中氚监测的现场监测仪的数字网络运行。研究受益者包括英国核工业(核电站许可证获得者及其供应链)、监管机构、公众和学术界。产生的知识将使行业更有效地满足监管要求。目前的监测涉及异地样品分析，速度慢且成本高。拟议的技术将为监管机构提供易于部署和具有成本效益的工具，减轻纳税人的负担，使更快的检测和更大的公众对核电站及其周围的土地监测更有信心。关键词：氚；仪器仪表；电化学；实时；地下水监测。