Abstract
The effective removal of iodine-129 from gaseous emissions during used nuclear fuel processing is critical for minimizing environmental contamination and ensuring environmental regulatory compliance. Recent research has focused on optimizing process air, scrubber conditions, and integrating complementary techniques, such as solid sorbents as a polishing step, to improve iodine capture efficiency. The efficiency of a caustic scrubber is influenced by several factors, such as pH, temperature, gas-liquid contact time, and the presence of oxidants, yet the existing literature tends not to consider how these factors might interact or change in importance with process scaling. This perspective advocates for reconsidering how to mitigate many of these factors, especially in view of the transition from laboratory bench to pilot scale and beyond. This paper reviews the principles, operational parameters, and advancements in caustic aqueous scrubbing for radioiodine mitigation, aims to direct the next scientific pursuit of this technology, and inform environmental decision-making.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2225-2237 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Reaction Chemistry and Engineering |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 23 2025 |
Funding
This work was supported by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Supply Chain, Material Recovery and Waste Form Development Campaign (NE-43), and the Office of Nuclear Energy Advanced Reactor Technology Development Molten Salt Reactor Campaign (NE-52). Additional support was provided by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), ONWARDS (Optimizing Nuclear Waste and Advanced Reactor Disposal Systems) program.