Photo of the Week: Iodine Crystals
The Iodine Off-Gas Testing and Abatement Lab (IOTA) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory specializes in assessing the performance of sorbent materials for their ability to capture iodine, which is a volatile radionuclide released from the disassembly and dissolution of used nuclear fuel. Shown in this photo are iodine crystals (I2) loaded into a water-jacketed glass column. This apparatus provides temperature-controlled iodine vaporization. When applied in an experiment, the iodine vapor mixed with other relevant gases to simulate a facility of gas that would be generated when recycling used nuclear fuel. The goal of this work is to examine solid sorbent candidates for iodine capture to identify the next generation materials for implementation in a fuel recycling facility. Materials like these must be incredibly robust and have high performance as facility radioiodine emissions are regulated by the U.S.
Photo Credit: Genevieve Martin, Oak Ridge National Laboratory