Silver Sulfide and Silver Sulfate as Aging Byproducts and Adsorbents for Gaseous Iodine Capture in Spent Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing

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While it is considered a promising adsorbent for radioiodine capture in spent nuclear fuel reprocessing off-gas, silver functionalized silica aerogel (Ag 0 -aerogel) experiences a capacity loss when exposed to other off-gas components (O 2, H 2 O, NO, and NO 2 ) through a process known as aging. Ag 2 S and Ag 2 SO 4 were identified as major byproducts of aging, but their impact on iodine adsorption remains unclear. Thus, to further investigate aging, we loaded Ag 2 S and Ag 2 SO 4 powders with molecular iodine (I 2 ) at 150 °C and characterized their properties. The I 2 adsorption capacity of Ag 2 SO 4 was 0.12 wt % after 72 h, suggesting its formation directly reduces the capacity of the Ag 0 -aerogel. Conversely, Ag 2 S had an iodine capacity of 86.8 wt % and near total Ag utilization after 240 h. Given its high capacity and availability, we evaluated the feasibility of Ag 2 S as an I 2 adsorbent in future applications. Several drawbacks need to be overcome, including the relatively slow uptake rate, potential emission of another hazardous byproduct (SO 2 ), and potential aging effects (e.g., Ag 2 S conversion to Ag 2 SO 4 ) before Ag 2 S can be applied for the radioiodine capture process.

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