Cladding hull decontamination and densification process. Part 1. The prototype cladding hull decontamination system

A prototype system for decontaminating Zircaloy-4 cladding hulls has been assembled and tested at Pacific Northwest Laboratory. The decontamination process consists of treatment with a gaseous mixture of hydrogen fluoride (HF) and argon (Ar) followed by a dilute aqueous etch of ammonium oxalate, ammonium citrate, ammonium fluoride, and hydrogen peroxide. The continuous cleaning process described in this report successfully descaled small portions of most charges, but was unable to handle the original design capacity of 4 kg/hr because of problems in the following areas: control of HF reactor temperatures, regulation of HF and argon mixtures and flows, isolation of the HF reactor atmosphere from the aqueous washer/rinser atmosphere, regulation of undesirable side reactions, and control over hull transport through the system. Due to the limited time available to solve these problems, the system did not attain fully operational status. The work was performed with unirradiated hulls that simulated irradiated hulls. The system was not built to be remotely operable. The process chemistry and system equipment are described in this report with particular emphasis on critical operating areas. Recommendations for improved system operation are included