Preliminary Study of Plutonium Utilization in AP1000 Reactor

Nailatussaadah,; Prastyo, Puguh A.; Waris, Abdul; Kurniadi, Rizal; Pramuditya, Syeilendra

doi:10.1088/1742-6596/877/1/012003

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 2 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Not all the bismuth would be converted to polonium at the end of the reaction due to leakage of neutrons out of the reaction mixture coupled with the larger elastic scattering cross section of bismuth-209 compared to its neutron capture cross section which means that some of the neutrons would simply scatter instead of being absorbed by bismuth-209 atoms [20]. This is represented in the reaction equation as the propagation coefficient, which is proportional to the limit of the amount of polonium-210 that can be extracted from the bismuth-209 feedstock material, which is similar to the conversion ratio in nuclear breeder reactors describing the rate of production of plutonium-239 while accounting for its simultaneous consumption [21]. In a similar pattern, the limit of the amount of polonium-210 able to be produced will also never be equal to the amount of feedstock material due to the decay of the polonium-210 already produced as the chain reaction relies on the alpha particles produced from their decay to be propagated.…”

Section: 3chain Reaction Propagationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neutronic Chain Reactions for Polonium-210 Production

Lim

2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The production of the industrially significant radionuclide polonium-210 from the neutron irradiation of bismuth metal and the subsequent beta decay of bismuth-210 is highly inefficient due to the small neutron capture cross section of bismuth-209. In this paper, we report a previously undescribed self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction involving self-propagating neutron multiplication in bismuth salts that allow for rapid and cost-effective production of polonium-210. The reaction proceeds in a cycle of three alternating elementary steps – the capture of neutrons by bismuth-209 and the subsequent formation of polonium-210, the emission of high-energy alpha particles by polonium-210, and the production of more neutrons from (α,n) and (n,2n) reactions on light element and bismuth-209 nuclei respectively. Furthermore, the high hydrogen density of the compound also confers it intrinsic neutron moderation properties, increasing the neutron capture cross section of bismuth-209 at thermal neutron energies. The chain reaction was proven to have successfully occurred by irradiating a sample of the bismuth salt with a 80 μCi neutron source and monitoring the activity levels of the reaction. It was found that the activity of the reaction increased exponentially after an initial stable period following a derived formula for polonium production trends for the reaction, thus validating the occurrence of the reaction. Furthermore, alpha spectroscopy confirmed that polonium-210 had been produced by characterising the 5.30 MeV alpha emission peak of the reaction in addition to using beta spectroscopy to identify the parent nuclide bismuth-210, further proving that the reaction was successful. Hence, this paper reports the successful initiation and characterisation of a novel nuclear chain reaction, and its potential applications offered by a method of rapidly producing large quantities of polonium-210.

show abstract

Section: 3chain Reaction Propagationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neutronic Chain Reactions for Polonium-210 Production

Lim

2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Not all the bismuth would be converted to polonium at the end of the reaction due to leakage of neutrons out of the reaction mixture coupled with the larger elastic scattering cross section of bismuth-209 compared to its small neutron capture cross section which means that some of the neutrons would simply scatter instead of being absorbed by bismuth-209 atoms [20]. This is represented in the reaction equation as the propagation coe cient, which is proportional to the limit of the amount of polonium-210 that can be extracted from the bismuth-209 feedstock material, which is similar to the conversion ratio in nuclear breeder reactors describing the rate of production of plutonium-239 while accounting for its simultaneous consumption [21]. In a similar pattern, the limit of the amount of polonium-210 able to be produced will also never be equal to the amount of feedstock material due to the decay of the polonium-210 already produced as the chain reaction relies on the alpha particles produced from their decay to be propagated.…”

Section: Chain Reaction Propagationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neutronic Chain Reactions for Polonium-210 Production

Lim

2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The production of the industrially significant radionuclide polonium-210 from the neutron irradiation of bismuth metal and the subsequent beta decay of bismuth-210 is highly inefficient due to the small neutron capture cross section of bismuth-209. In this paper, we report a previously undescribed self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction involving self-propagating neutron multiplication in bismuth salts that allow for rapid and cost-effective production of polonium-210. The reaction proceeds in a cycle of three alternating elementary steps – the capture of neutrons by bismuth-209 and the subsequent formation of polonium-210, the emission of high-energy alpha particles by polonium-210, and the production of more neutrons from (α,n) and (n,2n) reactions on light element and bismuth-209 nuclei respectively. Furthermore, the high hydrogen density of the compound also confers it intrinsic neutron moderation properties, increasing the neutron capture cross section of bismuth-209 at thermal neutron energies. The chain reaction was proven to have successfully occurred by irradiating a sample of the bismuth salt with a 80 µCi neutron source and monitoring the activity levels of the reaction. It was found that the activity of the reaction increased exponentially after an initial stable period following a derived formula for polonium production trends for the reaction, thus validating the occurrence of the reaction. Furthermore, alpha spectroscopy confirmed that polonium-210 had been produced by characterising the 5.30 MeV alpha emission peak of the reaction in addition to using beta spectroscopy to identify the parent nuclide bismuth-210, further proving that the reaction was successful. Hence, this paper reports the successful initiation and characterisation of a novel nuclear chain reaction, and its potential applications offered by a method of rapidly producing large quantities of polonium-210.

show abstract

“…Not all the bismuth would be converted to polonium at the end of the reaction due to leakage of neutrons out of the reaction mixture coupled with the larger elastic scattering cross section of bismuth-209 compared to its small neutron capture cross section which means that some of the neutrons would simply scatter instead of being absorbed by bismuth-209 atoms [20]. This is represented in the reaction equation as the propagation coefficient, which is proportional to the limit of the amount of polonium-210 that can be extracted from the bismuth-209 feedstock material, which is similar to the conversion ratio in nuclear breeder reactors describing the rate of production of plutonium-239 while accounting for its simultaneous consumption [21]. In a similar pattern, the limit of the amount of polonium-210 able to be produced will also never be equal to the amount of feedstock material due to the decay of the polonium-210 already produced as the chain reaction relies on the alpha particles produced from their decay to be propagated.…”

Section: 3chain Reaction Propagationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a Science Demonstration Laboratory in National University of Singapore

Lim

Sow

2019

The Phys. Educat.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Science demonstrations are a good way of promoting, teaching and learning science. This is provided that there exists carefully crafted “software” and communication methods to go along with the hardware. During the past few years, we have developed a Science Demonstration Laboratory at NUS aiming to play an active role in science outreach, science communication and science education. Our approach has evolved from an initial “show-and-tell” model to a more engaging “minds-on” approach where participants are consistently required to make predictions of the outcomes of scientific phenomena before witnessing the demonstrations. We also learnt that the education and development of talented science educators and communicators are crucial to ensure and project the effectiveness of a “hands-on”, “minds-on” approach to science education.

show abstract

Preliminary Study of Plutonium Utilization in AP1000 Reactor

Cited by 5 publications

References 2 publications

Neutronic Chain Reactions for Polonium-210 Production

Neutronic Chain Reactions for Polonium-210 Production

Neutronic Chain Reactions for Polonium-210 Production

Development of a Science Demonstration Laboratory in National University of Singapore

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About