Yuta Kumagai

Hydrogen production in gamma radiolysis of the mixture of mordenite and seawater

Hydrogen production by γ-radiolysis of the mixture of mordenite, a zeolite mineral, and seawater was studied in order to provide basic points of view for the influences of zeolite minerals, of the salts in seawater, and of rise in temperature on the hydrogen production by the radiolysis of water. These influences are required to be considered in the evaluation of the hydrogen production from residual water in the waste zeolite adsorbents generated in Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station. As the influence of the mordenite, an additional production of hydrogen besides the hydrogen production by the radiolysis of water was observed. The additional hydrogen can be interpreted as the hydrogen production induced by the absorbed energy of the mordenite at the yield of 2.3×10−8 mol/J. The influence of the salts was observed as increase of the hydrogen production. The influence of the salts can be attributed to the reactions of bromide and chloride ions inhibiting the reaction of hydrogen with hydroxyl radical. The influence of the rise in temperature was not significantly observed up to 60°C in the mixture with seawater. The results show that the additional production of hydrogen due to the mordenite had little temperature dependence.

Temperature effect on the absorption spectrum of the hydrated electron paired with a lithium cation in deuterated water

The absorption spectra of the hydrated electron in 1.0 to 4.0 M LiCl or LiClO4 deuterated water solutions were measured by pulse radiolysis techniques from room temperature to 300 degrees C at a constant pressure of 25 MPa. The results show that when the temperature is increased and the density is decreased, the absorption spectrum of the electron in the presence of a lithium cation is shifted to lower energies. Quantum classical molecular dynamics (QCMD) simulations of an excess electron in bulk water and in the presence of a lithium cation have been performed to compare with the experimental results. According to the QCMD simulations, the change in the shape of the spectrum is due to one of the three p-like excited states of the solvated electron destabilized by core repulsion. The study of s --> p transition energies for the three p-excited states reveals that for temperatures higher than room temperature, there is a broadening of each individual s --> p absorption band due to a less structured water solvation shell.

Temperature Dependent Absorption Spectra of Br−, Br2•−, and Br3− in Aqueous Solutions

The absorption spectra of Br(2)(•-) and Br(3)(-) in aqueous solutions are investigated by pulse radiolysis techniques from room temperature to 380 and 350 °C, respectively. Br(2)(•-) can be observed even in supercritical conditions, showing that this species could be used as a probe in pulse radiolysis at high temperature and even under supercritical conditions. The weak temperature effect on the absorption spectra of Br(2)(•-) and Br(3)(-) is because, in these two systems, the transition occurs between two valence states; for example, for Br(2)(-) we have (2)Σ(u) → (2)Σ(g) transition. These valence transitions involve no diffuse final state. However, the absorption band of Br(-) undergoes an important red shift to longer wavelengths. We performed classical dynamics of hydrated Br(-) system at 20 and 300 °C under pressure of 25 MPa. The radial distribution functions (rdfs) show that the strong temperature increase (from 20 to 300 °C) does not change the radius of the solvent first shell. On the other hand, it shifts dramatically (by 1 Å) the second maximum of the Br-O rdf and introduces much disorder. This shows that the first water shell is strongly bound to the anion whatever the temperature. The first two water shells form a cavity of a roughly spherical shape around the anion. By TDDFT method, we calculated the absorption spectra of hydrated Br(-) at two temperatures and we compared the results with the experimental data.

Radiation-induced degradation of aqueous 2–chlorophenol assisted by zeolites

This study aims to demonstrate that zeolite has the potential to increase the efficiency of radiolysis treatment of aqueous organic pollutants by concentrating the pollutants into the zeolite’s pores. Using 2-chlorophenol (2-ClPh) as a model compound, we determined the high performance to be displayed by a mordenite-type zeolite (HMOR), which has a high silicon-to-aluminum ratio. HMOR adsorbed far more 2-ClPh than the other zeolites used in this study. We observed a significant increase in the radiolytic degradation efficiency of 2-ClPh in the presence of HMOR. Evidence shows that the high concentration of zeolite-adsorbed 2-ClPh facilitates radiation-induced degradation.

The role of surface-bound hydroxyl radicals in the reaction between H2O2 and UO2

Abstract In this work, we have studied the reaction between H2O2 and UO2 with particular focus on the nature of the hydroxyl radical formed as an intermediate. Experiments were performed to study the kinetics of H2O2 consumption and uranium dissolution at different initial H2O2 concentrations. The results show that the consumption rates at a given H2O2 concentration are different depending on the initial H2O2 concentration. This is attributed to an alteration of the reactive interface, likely caused by blocking of surface sites by oxidized U/surface-bound hydroxyl radicals. The dissolution yield given by the amount of dissolved uranium divided by the amount of consumed hydrogen peroxide was used to compare the different cases. For all initial H2O2 concentrations, the dissolution yield increases with reaction time. The final dissolution yield decreases with increasing initial H2O2 concentration. This is expected from the mechanism of catalytic decomposition of H2O2 on oxide surfaces. As the experiments were performed in solutions containing 10 mM and a strong concentration dependence was observed in the 0.2–2.0 mM H2O2 concentration range, we conclude that the intermediate hydroxyl radical is surface bound rather than free.