세라믹 분리막은 높은 열적, 화학적 안정성을 갖기 때문에 극한의 조건에서 운전되는 다양한 산업 공정에 적용할 수 있다. 그러나 투과도와 기계적 강도의 trade-off 현상에 의한 세라믹 분리막 활용에 제약이 있어, 고투과성-고강도 분리막 의 개발이 필요하다. 본 연구에서는 상전이-압출법으로 알루미나 중공사 분리막을 제조하고, 고분자 바인더의 종류와 그 혼합 비에 따른 분리막의 특성 변화를 관찰하였다. 용매인 DMAc (Dimethylacetamide)와 고분자 바인더의 한센 용해도 인자를 비 교하면, PSf (polysulfone)가 DMAc와 높은 용해도 특성을 갖기 때문에 도프 용액의 점도와 토출압력이 높게 나타나 분리막 내부가 치밀한 구조로 형성되기 때문에 높은 기계적 강도를 갖으나 수투과도가 감소하는 것으로 확인되었다. 그에 반해, PES (polyethersulfone)를 이용하여 분리막을 제조하면 기계적 강도가 다소 감소하고 수투과도가 증가하는 것으로 나타났다. 따라 서 분리막 성능과 물성을 최적화하기 위해 PSf와 PES를 혼합하여 분리막을 제조하였으며, 9:1로 혼합하여 제조된 분리막에 서 최적화된 수투과도와 기계적 강도를 얻을 수 있었다.

The radionuclide management process is a conditioning technology to reduce the burden of spent fuel management, and refers to a process that can separate and recover radionuclides having similar properties from spent fuels. In particular, through the radionuclide management process, high heat- emitting, high mobility, and high toxicity radionuclides, which have a significant impact on the performance of disposal system, are separated and managed. The performance of disposal system is closely related to properties (decay heat and radioactivity) of radioactive wastes from the radionuclide management process, and the properties are directly linked to the radionuclide separation ratio that determines the composition of radionuclides in waste flow. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute have derived process flow diagrams for six candidates for the radionuclide management process, weighing on feasibility among various process options that can be considered. In addition, the GoldSim model has been established to calculate the mass and properties of waste from each unit process of the radionuclides management process and to observe their time variations. In this study, the candidates for the radionuclide management process are evaluated based on the waste mass and properties by using the GoldSim model, and sensitivity analysis changing the separation ratio are performed. And the effect of changes in the separation ratio for highly sensitive radionuclides on waste management strategy is analyzed. In particular, the separation ratio for high heat-emitting radionuclides determines the period of long-term decay storage.

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute’s Post Irradiated Examination Facility safely stores spent nuclear fuel using a wet storage method to conduct research. Here, in order to remove the radioactivity released into the water, the stored water is passed through an ion exchange resin tower, and the radionuclides are exchanged with the bead-shaped ion exchange resin filled inside to lower the radioactivity concentration. At this time, because the stored water passes in one direction, clogging of the ion exchange resin occurs. If this phenomenon continues, the flow rate of the water treatment process decreases and operation efficiency decreases, so a backwashing process is necessary to re-mix the ion exchange resin and secure the flow rate again. In this study, the flow rate reduction trend according to the lifespan of the ion exchange resin and the flow rate recovery according to the backwash process operation amount were analyzed. The flow rate reduction trend of the ion exchange process was analyzed immediately after the backwashing process was started. In addition, the amount of flow recovery according to the backwash process operation amount was evaluated by the amount of waste generated during the backwash process and the number of days of operation until the backwash process was needed again. As a result, the flow rate of the ion exchange process decreased rapidly right after the backwash process until the position of the ion exchange resins was stabilized, and then stabilized. After that, it gradually decreased and reached the point where the backwash process was necessary. However, the decline trend was analyzed to be the same regardless of the lifespan of the ion exchange resin. In addition, the amount of waste generated during the operation of the backwash process was increased in the order of 400 L, 600 L, 1,100 L, 1,400 L, 3,500 L, and 4,200 L to increase the amount of operation of the backwash process. As a result, the number of days of ion exchange resin operation was 285 days, 338 days, and 342 days, was analyzed as 422 days, 322 days, and 720 days. Based on this study, it was confirmed that the flow rate reduction trend is the same regardless of the lifespan of the ion exchange resin, and as the backwash process operation increases, the number of days the ion exchange process can be operated increases, but there is a turning point where the waste treatment cost exceeds the number of days of operation.

In the engineered barrier system of deep geological disposal repository, complex physicochemical phenomena occur throughout the entire disposal time, consequently impacting the safety function. The bentonite buffer, a significant component of the engineered barrier system, can be geochemically altered due to the changes in host rock groundwater, temperature, and redox condition. Such changes may have direct or indirect effects on radionuclide migration in case of canister failure. Therefore, a modeling tool that accounts for coupled thermal-hydraulic-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes is necessary for the safety assessment. To this end, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has developed the APro, a modeling interface for conducting safety assessment of deep geological disposal repository. The APro considers coupled THMC processes that influence radionuclide migration. Here, the solute transport considering thermal and hydraulic processes are calculated using the COMSOL multi-physics, while geochemical reactions are carried out in PHREEQC. The two software are coupled using a sequential non-iterative operator splitting approach, and transport of non-water H, non-water O, and charge were additionally considered to enhance the coupling model stability. Finally, the applicability of APro to simulate long-term geochemical evolution of bentonite was demonstrated through benchmark studies to evaluate the effects of mineral precipitation/dissolution, temperature, redox, and seawater intrusion.

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute is developing a radionuclide management processes as a conditioning technology to reduce the burden of spent fuel disposal. The radionuclide management process refers to a process managing radionuclides with similar properties by introducing various technology options that can separate and recover radionuclides from spent fuels. In particular, it is a process aimed at increasing disposal efficiency by managing high-heat, high-mobility, and high-toxic radionuclides that can greatly affect the performance of the disposal system. Since the radionuclide management process seeks to consider various technology options for each unit process, it may have several process flows rather than have a single process flow. Describing the various process flows as a single flow network model is called the superstructure model. In this study, we intend to develop a superstructure model for the radionuclide management process and use it as a model to select the optimal process flow. To find the optimal process flow, an objective function must be defined, and at the fuel cycle system level multiple objectives such as effectiveness (disposal area), safety (explosure dose), and economics (cost) can be considered. Before performing the system-level optimization, it is necessary to select candidates of process flow in consideration of waste properties and process efficiency at the process level. In this study, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to analyze changes in waste properties such as decay heat and radioactivity when the separation ratio varies due to the performance change for each unit process of the radionuclide management process. Through this analysis, it is possible to derive a performance range that can have waste properties suitable for following waste treatment, especially waste form manufacturing. It is also possible to analyze the effect of waste properties that vary according to the performance change on waste storage and management approaches.

This study was conducted to evaluate the filtration performance according to the feed temperature composed of NaCl and the operating pressure of the brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) process. The temperature is known that decides the filtration performance of reverse osmosis (RO). It is noted that temperature increase activates the permeate of salts due to augment of diffusivity and mass transfer. Filtration of the lab-scale RO system was performed with constant pressure and the constant flow was simulated. The salt rejection measured by the concentration of the feed and permeate was compared with water permeability and salt permeability in the conditions containing various temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30℃) and pressures (10, 12, 15, and 18 bar). An increase in feed temperature from 5 °C to 30 °C caused a 4.65% decrease in salt rejection in CSM, due to an increase in salt permeability (4.06 times) rather than an increase in water permeability (2.62 times). Specific energy consumption (SEC) was calculated by using an electricity meter set in the RO system. It was expected that the SEC by the increases in temperature and pressure decreased due to the viscosity decline of the feed and the permeate flux augment, respectively. The SEC decreased by 63.4% in CSM and by 54.3% in Nittodenko when the feed temperature increased from 5 °C to 30 °C. It discussed how to operate the optimal RO process through the effect of temperature and operating pressure and the comparison of SEC.

The utilization of carbonaceous reinforcement-based polymer matrix composites in structural applications has become a hot topic in composite research. Although conventional carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites (CFRPs) have revolutionized the composite industry by offering unparalleled features, they are often plagued with a weak interface and lack of toughness. However, the promising aspects of carbon fiber-based fiber hybrid composites and hierarchical composites can compensate for these setbacks. This review provides a meticulous landscape and recent progress of polymer matrixbased different carbonaceous (carbon fiber, carbon nanotube, graphene, and nanodiamond) fillers reinforced composites’ mechanical properties. First, the mechanical performance of neat CFRP was exhaustively analyzed, attributing parameters were listed down, and CFRPs’ mechanical performance barriers were clearly outlined. Here, short carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite was distinguished as a prospective material. Second, the strategic advantages of fiber hybrid composites over conventional CFRP were elucidated. Third, the mechanical performance of hierarchical composites based on carbon nanotube (1D), graphene (2D) and nanodiamond (0D) was expounded and evaluated against neat CFRP. Fourth, the review comprehensively discussed different fabrication methods, categorized them according to performance and suggested potential future directions. From here, the review sorted out three-dimensional printing (3DP) as the most futuristic fabrication method and thoroughly delivered its pros and cons in the context of the aforementioned carbonaceous materials. To conclude, the structural applications, current challenges and future prospects pertinent to these carbonaceous fillers reinforced composite materials were elaborated.

In this study, the removal efficiency of PFCs(perfluorinated compounds) in the GAC(granule activated carbon) process based on the superheated steam automatic regeneration system was investigated in laboratory scale and pilot-scale reactor. Among PFCs, PFHxS(perfluorohexyl sulfonate) was most effectively removed. The removal efficiency of PFCs was found to be closely related to the EBCT, and the removal efficiencies of PFOA(perfluorooctanoic acid), PFOS(perfluorooctyl sulfonate), and PFHxS were 43.7, 75, and 100%, respectively, under the condition of EBCT of 6 min. Afterward, PFOA, PFOS, and PFHxS exhibited the earlier breakthrough time in the order. After that, GAC was regenerated, and the removal efficiency of the PFCs before and after regeneration was compared. As a result, it was shown that the PFCs removal efficiency in the regenerated GAC process were higher, and that of PFOA was improved to 75%. The findings of this study indicate the feasibility of the superheated steam automatic regeneration system for the stable removal of the PFCs, and it was verified that this technology can be applied stably enough even in field conditions.

In this paper, a heat exchange system using cooling dehumidification and mixing process was proposed as an experimental study for a white smoke reduction heat exchanger system under winter condition. The white smoke reduction heat exchange system is divided into an EA part, SA part, W part and mixing zone. For the operating conditions, three types (Cases 1, 2, and 3) were selected depending on whether EA fan, SA fan, and A-W heat exchanger were operated. In addition, in order to visualize the white smoke exhausted from the mixing zone, it was photographed using CCTV. In order to investigate the performance of the white smoke reduction heat exchange system, the temperature reduction rate and absolute humidity reduction rate of EA and the heat recovery rate of W were calculated. The temperature change of EA and SA according to operating conditions was most effective in Case 3, and the temperature and absolute humidity at the outlet of the mixing zone were greatly reduced. From the results of the white smoke visualization, it was confirmed that the white smoke generation mechanism was different depending on the operating conditions, and the amount of white smoke generation was greatly reduced.