• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.47 no.4
• /
• pp.337-344
• /
• 2020

Plant growth-promoting microorganisms promote plant growth by supplying nutrients to roots and interacting with the intrinsic factors in plants through volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this study, we evaluated the effect of UOS, plant growth-promoting fungi (PGPF) isolated from previous study, on the growth of Nicotiana tabacum L. var Xanthi nc. Phylogenetic analysis and GC-MS were used to identify the fungal species and the VOCs emitted by the UOS, respectively. The fresh weight of UOS-treated Nicotiana tabacum L. was 3.8 and 4.2-fold higher than that of the control groups grown in vertical and I-plates, respectively. Moreover, in the UOS-treated plants, the length of the primary root was half and the number of lateral roots were twice compared to those in control plants. The UOS was identified as Phoma sp. by studying spore and mycelial morphology and using phylogenetic analysis. GC-MS revealed that the VOC emitted by the UOS was hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane (D3). These results suggest that the UOS of Phoma sp. influences plant growth and root development through D3. We expect this UOS and its VOC, D3 to be utilized in the future to increase growth and enhance yield for other plants.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.43 no.2
• /
• pp.141-148
• /
• 2011

This paper presents the quantitative analysis results of research on the burnup effect on the nuclear fuel cycle cost of BeO-$UO_2$ fuel. As a result of this analysis, if the burnup is 60 MWD/kg, which is the limit under South Korean regulations, the nuclear fuel cycle cost is 4.47 mills/kWh at 4.8wt% of Be content for the BeO-$UO_2$ fuel. It is, however, reduced to 3.70 mills/kWh at 5.4wt% of Be content if the burnup is 75MWD/kg. Therefore, it seems very advantageous, in terms of the economic aspect, to develop BeO-$UO_2$ fuel, which does not have any technical problem with its safety and is a high burnup & long life cycle nuclear fuel.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
• /
• 1996.11b
• /
• pp.506-511
• /
• 1996

Research on the dry etching of UO$_2$ by using fluorine containing gas plasma is carried out for DUPIC (Direct Use of spent PWR fuel In CANDU) process which is taken into consideration for potential future fuel cycle in Korea. CF$_4$/O$_2$ gas mixture is chosen for the reactant gas and the etching rates of UO$_2$ by the gas plasma are investigated as functions of substrate temperature, plasma gas pressure, CF$_4$/O$_2$ ratio, and plasma power, It is tentatively found that the etching rate can reach 1000 monolayers/min. and the optimum CF$_4$/O$_2$ ratio is around 4:1.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.4 no.5
• /
• pp.231-234
• /
• 1983

The stability constant for the complex of $UO_2^{2+}$ with a macrocyclic aminoether ligand, 1,7,10,16-tetraoxa-4,13-diazacyclooctadecane, has determined in aqueous solution. The conductivity and pH metric measurements suggest that the ligand forms a stable 1:1 complex with $UO_2^{2+}$ ion, and the complex is an ionic form, $UO_2L^{2+}$, in aqueous solution. The fact that the ligand does not form a complex with lanthanides, such as $Ce^{3+}$, $Sm^{3+}$, and $Nd^{3+}$ ions, in aqueous solution suggests a possibility of separation of the lanthanide elements from uranium matrix using the macrocyclic aminoether ligand.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.4 no.3
• /
• pp.255-263
• /
• 2006

Vol-oxidizer is a device to convert $UO_2$ pellets into $U_3O_8$ powder and to feed a homogeneous powder into a Metal Conversion Reactor in the ACP(Advanced Spent Fuel Conditioning Process). In this paper, we propose a design model of the vol-oxidizer, develop the new vol-oxidizer with a capacity of 20 kg HM/batch in $UO_2$ pellets, and conduct a verification for the device. Design considerations include the internal structure, the capacity, the heating position of the device, and the size. The dimensions of the new vol-oxidizer are decided by the design model. We determine a permeability test of the $U_3O_8$ measuring the temperature distribution, and the volume of $UO_2$ and $U_3O_8$. We manufactured the new vol-oxidizer for a 20 kg HM/batch in $UO_2$ pellets, and then analyzed the characteristics of the $U_3O_8$ powder for the verification. The experimental results show that the permeability of the $U_3O_8$ throughout mesh enhance more than old vol-oxidizer, the oxidation time takes only 8 hours when compared with the 13 hours of the old device, and the average distribution of particle size is $40{\mu}m$. The capacities of new vol-oxidizer for a 20 kg HM/batch in $UO_2$ pellets were agree well with the predictions of design model.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.46 no.6
• /
• pp.574-582
• /
• 2009

$UO_2$ microsphere particles, core material of HTGR(High Temperature Gas Reactor) nuclear fuel, were prepared using by the GSP(Gel Supported Precipitation) method which is a modified-method of the wet sol-gel process. The spherical shape of initial liquid ADU droplets from the vibration nozzle system was continuously kept till the conversion to the final $UO_2$ microsphere. But the size of a final $UO_2$ microsphere was shrunken to about 25% of an initial ADU droplet size. Also, we found that the composition of dried-ADU gel particles was constituted of the very complicated phases, coexisted the U=O, C-H, N-H, N-O, and O-H functional groups by FT-IR. The important factors for obtain the no-crack $UO_2$ microsphere during the thermal treatment processes must perfectly wash out the remained-$NH_4NO_3$ within the ADU gel particle in washing process and the selections of an appropriate heating rate at a suitable gas atmosphere, during the calcining of ADU gel particles, the reducing of $UO_3$ particles, and the sintering of $UO_2$ particles, respectively.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.65-73
• /
• 2013

Temperature-dependent hydrolysis behaviors of aqueous U(VI) species were investigated with time-resolved laser fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS) in the temperature range from 15 to $75^{\circ}C$. The formation of four different U(VI) hydrolysis species was measured at pHs from 1 to 7. The predominant presence of $UO{_2}^{2+}$, $(UO_2)_2(OH){_2}^{2+}$, $(UO_2)_3(OH){_5}^+$, and $(UO_2)_3(OH){_7}^-$ species were identified based on the spectroscopic properties such as fluorescence wavelengths and fluorescence lifetimes. With an increasing temperature, a remarkable decrement in the fluorescence lifetime for all U(VI) hydrolysis species was observed, representing the dynamic quenching behavior. Furthermore, the increase in the fluorescence intensity of the further hydrolyzed U(VI) species was clearly observed at an elevated temperature, showing stronger hydrolysis reactions with increasing temperatures. The formation constants of the U(VI) hydrolysis species were calculated to be $log\;K{^0}_{2,2}=-4.0{\pm}0.6$ for $(UO_2)_2(OH){_2}^{2+}$, $log\;K{^0}_{3,5}=-15.0{\pm}0.3$ for $(UO_2)_3(OH){_5}^+$, and $log\;K{^0}_{3,7}=-27.7{\pm}0.7$ for $(UO_2)_3(OH){_7}^-$ at $25^{\circ}C$ and I = 0 M. The specific ion interaction theory (SIT) was applied for the extrapolation of the formation constants to infinitely diluted solution. The results of temperature-dependent hydrolysis behavior in terms of the U(VI) fluorescence were compared and validated with those obtained using computational methods (DQUANT and constant enthalpy equation). Both results matched well with each other. The reaction enthalpies and entropies that are vital for the computational methods were determined by a combination of the van't Hoff equation and the Gibbs free energy equation. The temperature-dependent hydrolysis reaction of the U(VI) species indicates the transition of a major U(VI) species by means of geothermal gradient and decay heat from the radioactive isotopes, representing the necessity of deeper consideration in the safety assessment of geologic repository.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.507-514
• /
• 2003

Recently dry decontamination/surface-cleaning technology using plasma etching has been focused in the nuclear industry. In this study, the applicability of this new dry processing technique are experimentally investigated by examining the etching reaction of $UO_2$, Co, and Mo in r.f. plasma with the etchant gas of $CF_4/O_2$ mixture. $UO_2$ is chosen as a representing material for uranium and TRU (TRans-Uranic) compounds while metallic Co and Mo are selected because they are the principal contaminants in the used metallic nuclear components such as valves and pipes made of stainless steel or inconel. Results show that in all cases maximum etching rate is achieved when the mole fraction of $UO_2\;in\;CF_4/O_2$ mixture gas is $20\%$, regardless of temperature and r.f. power. In case of $UO_2$, the highest etching reaction rate is greater than 1000 monolayers/min. at $370^{\circ}C$ under 150 W r.f. power which is equivalent to $0.4{\mu}m/min$. As for Co, etching reaction begins to take place significantly when the temperature exceeds $350^{\circ}C$. Maximum etching rate achieved at $380^{\circ}C\;is\;0.06{\mu}m/min$. Mo etching reaction takes place vigorously even at relatively low temperature and the reaction rate increases drastically with increasing temperature. Highest etching rate at $380^{\circ}C\;is\;1.9{\mu}m/min$. According to OES (Optical Emission Spectroscopy) and AES (Auger Electron Spectroscopy) analysis, primary reaction seems to be a fluorination reaction, but carbonyl compound formation reaction may assist the dominant reaction, especially in case of Co and Mo. Through this basic study, the feasibility and the applicability of plasma decontamination technique are demonstrated.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.48 no.4
• /
• pp.1002-1008
• /
• 2016

An understanding of the coarsening process of the large fission gas pores in the high burn-up structure (HBS) of irradiated $UO_2$ fuel is very necessary for analyzing the safety and reliability of fuel rods in a reactor. A numerical model for the description of pore coarsening in the HBS based on the Ostwald ripening mechanism, which has successfully explained the coarsening process of precipitates in solids is developed. In this model, the fission gas atoms are treated as the special precipitates in the irradiated $UO_2$ fuel matrix. The calculated results indicate that the significant pore coarsening and mean pore density decrease in the HBS occur upon surpassing a local burn-up of 100 GWd/tM. The capability of this model is successfully validated against irradiation experiments of $UO_2$ fuel, in which the average pore radius, pore density, and porosity are directly measured as functions of local burn-up. Comparisons with experimental data show that, when the local burn-up exceeds 100 GWd/tM, the calculated results agree well with the measured data.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.60-67
• /
• 2002

The effects of ball-milling time(0 ~4 hrs) have been investigated on the change of powder characteristics, compaction behavior (compaction pressure range : 200 ~400MPa) and sinterability (1700'c in Ha atmosphere) of two different UO$_2$ powders (ex-ADU and ex-AUC) prepared by the wet process. It is observed that, while the ex-ADU UO$_2$ was little affected, the ex-AUC UO$_2$ was largely affected by the ball-milling treatment. This may be attributed to the characteristics of particle size formed during the preparation step, i.e.., the former has a small average size of about 1.0${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$, while the latter has a relatively large average size of about 301n. It appeared that the effective size reduction by ball-milling treatment is limited to the particle size larger than l${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$, and to the extent of maximum decrease in size of about 0.5tn. In the case of ex-AUC UO$_2$, it is observed that the particle size decreased with ball-milling time and green density and sintered density of the pellets prepared from ball-milled powder increased compared with those of pellets prepared from the as-received powder under the same conditions. This may be attributed mainly to the fine particles formed during the ball-milling treatment.