Radiation Chemistry of Ionic Liquids for Nuclear Applications

• Date
  Mon, Feb 04

  Time
  2:00 PM — 3:15 PM

  Address
  Steinman Hall
  Steinman Hall 160 - Lecture Hall
  

  Location
  Steinman Hall, 160

  p: 212.650.5748

  Admission
  Free

• Event Details

  The Chemical Engineering Department welcomes James Wishart from Brookhaven National Laboratories

  Ionic liquids (ILs) can make major contributions to the establishment of a sustainable energy economy through their use in sophisticated technologies for the production, storage and efficient consumption of energy. In particular, ILs may be used in new schemes for the recycling of spent nuclear fuel that would close the loop on the nuclear fuel cycle, resulting in much more efficient use of natural resources and dramatic reductions in the volume and longevity of radioactive waste. Because ILs used for nuclear separations and recycling systems will be subjected to ionizing radiation that will degrade their performance over time, we use electron pulse and CW gamma radiolysis, EPR spectroscopy, ESI-MS radiolytic product analysis with isotopic labeling and other techniques to elucidate radiation-induced reaction pathways as a function of ionic liquid composition in order to improve the durability of proposed IL-based spent fuel processing systems. We have learned a great deal about how radiation damage accumulates in different types of ionic liquids and we can propose strategies for reducing radiolysis effects on separations systems. This work was supported by the US-DOE Office of Science, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences under contracts Nos. DE-AC02-98CH10886 (BNL) and DE-AC02-06CH11357 (ANL).