Removal of Dissolved Oxygen from the Make-up Water of NPP Using Membrane-based Oxygen Removal System

Corrosion control, in the end-shield cooling system of Wolsung Nuclear Power Plant, is directly related to the control of dissolved oxygen (DO). The current method, being used to deoxygenate the end-shield cooling water, is a chemical treatment by addition of reducing agent, hydrazine, to react with DO. This method has several limitations including high reaction temperature of hydrazine , unwanted explosive hydrogen gas production, and its intrinsic harmful property. A new approach to remove DO using a membrane-based oxygen removal system (MORS) was tried to overcome limitations of the hydrazine treatment. The DO removal efficiency of the MORS was found to be in the range 87% to 98%: The higher vacuum, the lower water flow rate and the higher water temperature tend to increase the DO removal efficiency.