Radiation-resistant metal-organic framework enables efficient separation of krypton fission gas from spent nuclear fuel.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 32555193.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-16647-1 and PMC identifier 7303119.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Capture and storage of volatile radionuclides that result from processing of used nuclear fuel is a major challenge. Solid adsorbents, in particular ultra-microporous metal-organic frameworks, could be effective in capturing these volatile radionuclides, including 85Kr. However, metal-organic frameworks are found to have higher affinity for xenon than for krypton, and have comparable affinity for Kr and N2. Also, the adsorbent needs to have high radiation stability. To address these challenges, here we evaluate a series of ultra-microporous metal-organic frameworks, SIFSIX-3-M (M = Zn, Cu, Ni, Co, or Fe) for their capability in 85Kr separation and storage using a two-bed breakthrough method. These materials were found to have higher Kr/N2 selectivity than current benchmark materials, which leads to a notable decrease in the nuclear waste volume. The materials were systematically studied for gamma and beta irradiation stability, and SIFSIX-3-Cu is found to be the most radiation resistant.