Experimental Study on Aerosol and Gas Emission of Solvent Fire Accident in Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facility

Abstract

In the nuclear fuel cycle, 30 vol % tributyl phosphate/kerosene is always used as the major actinide extractant. However, there is a risk of fire accident during the usage of the solvent solution. It is necessary to investigate solvent fire because of the release of radioactive materials and possible overheating and blocking of ventilation filters. This paper discusses several tests of solvent solution combustion that were carried out to analyze the safety of solvent fire. Parameters such as gas emission of solvent burning, mass loss rate, and production of aerosol were obtained and analyzed. The experimental data obtained in this paper can be useful to develop a method of solvent fire assessment and evaluate a solvent fire accident in a nuclear fuel cycle facility.

Keywords:

• Solvent fire accident
• combustion behavior
• emission
• nuclear fuel cycle

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was financially supported by China Institute for Radiation Protection and China Nuclear Power Engineering.