Actinide Decontamination by Microwave Atmospheric Pressure Plasma jet: A Systematic Study Supported by Optical Emission Spectroscopy

TL;DR

This study develops and characterizes a microwave atmospheric pressure plasma jet for decontaminating plutonium-based radioactive waste, demonstrating high efficiency and scalability with optical emission spectroscopy support.

Contribution

It introduces a novel single-electrode APPJ device for radioactive waste decontamination, optimized via optical emission spectroscopy, and demonstrates its scalability and effectiveness.

Findings

Achieved approximately 92% decontamination efficiency.

Scaled-up device reduced operation time by 50%.

Oxygen presence is crucial for effective decontamination.

Abstract

A single electrode microwave based atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) had been developed, characterized and applied for decontamination of Pu based synthetic radioactive waste. Argon plasma with small amount of CF4 and O2 was used for this purpose. The device was initially characterized by optical emission spectroscopy (OES) to determine its operational regime and used on Ta, a known surrogate of Pu for testing its efficacy in etching. Parametric optimization studies had been conducted thereafter on solid radioactive wastes of Pu and it was seen that presence of oxygen in plasma plays a crucial role in efficient removal of contamination. A scaled up multi-electrode version of this device was later designed and employed inside the glove box for similar studies. It was seen that ~ 92% decontamination could be achieved under optimized condition with both the devices and the scaled up APPJ device reduced operation time by 50%.