(139g) Radiolysis Induced Mobility of Chloride Ions in Zeolite

The Savannah River Site processes hydrogen isotopes using molecular sieves (zeolites) to dry process streams. The saturated molecular sieves are periodically regenerated to recover the third isotope of hydrogen, tritium. Typically drying or regeneration of molecular sieves does not result in corrosion, but due to the unique beta decay energy of tritium radiolysis induced corrosion has been observed. Zeolite typically has some chloride species as a result of the sol-gel fabrication process. The chloride species are typically assumed fixed and no significant leaching of chlorides is noted. Experiments have been conducted to test the hypothesis that the radiation has contributed to chloride mobility and hence the corrosion of downstream piping.