• Clean Technology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.183-190
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• 2012

Electrochemical regeneration of the iron chloride waste solution from PCB etching reduces environmental contamination and produces copper as by-product, so the economic feasibility is high. But iron chloride waste solution contains iron and copper and the reactions occurring in the electrolytic cell are complicated. In this work, the oxidation of iron chloride and copper deposition were examined through batch electrolysis and the optimum conditions of the process parameters were found. The oxidation of ferrous chloride was achieved easily to the desired level. The copper deposition efficiency was high in the reaction using the carbon cathode when the copper density was 12 g/L with the electric current density of $350mA/cm^2$, and the ratio of the $Fe^{2+}$ ion was high. In addition, the possibility of the scale-up was confirmed in continuous operation of bench reactor using the optimum conditions obtained.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2023

The major concern in the deep geological disposal of spent nuclear fuels include sulfide-induced corrosion and stress corrosion cracking of copper canisters. Sulfur diffusion into copper canisters may induce copper embrittlement by causing Cu₂S particle formation along grain boundaries; these sulfide particles can act as crack initiation sites and eventually cause embrittlement. To prevent the formation of Cu₂S along grain boundaries and sulfur-induced copper embrittlement, copper alloys are designed in this study. Alloying elements that can act as chemical anchors to suppress sulfur diffusion and the formation of Cu₂S along grain boundaries are investigated based on the understanding of the microscopic mechanism of sulfur diffusion and Cu₂S precipitation along grain boundaries. Copper alloy ingots are experimentally manufactured to validate the alloying elements. Microstructural analysis using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy demonstrates that Cu₂S particles are not formed at grain boundaries but randomly distributed within grains in all the vacuum arc-melted Cu alloys (Cu-Si, Cu-Ag, and Cu-Zr). Further studies will be conducted to evaluate the mechanical and corrosion properties of the developed Cu alloys.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.157-160
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• 2014

We examined and compared the feasibility of vegetable oils with synthetic thermal conductive oils to recover highly purified copper metal from waste jelly-filled communication cables. While polydimethylsiloxane shows relatively poor separation efficiency under entire operating conditions, dibenzyltoluene and waste vegetable oil show the high separation efficiency if the appropriate operating temperature and time were given. By running 50 kg-class equipment with waste vegetable oils, we obtained 100% copper metal recovery with 99.2% purity at $300^{\circ}C$ for 60 min.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.11
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• pp.4173-4180
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• 2023

The stability of engineered barriers in high-level radioactive waste disposal systems can be influenced by the decay heat generated by the waste. This study focuses on the thermal analysis of various canister designs to effectively lower the maximum temperature of the engineered barrier. A numerical model was developed and employed to investigate the heat dissipation potential of copper rings placed across the buffer. Various canister designs incorporating copper rings were presented, and numerical analysis was performed to identify the design with the most significant temperature reduction effect. The results confirmed that the temperature of the buffer material was effectively lowered with an increase in the number of copper rings penetrating the buffer. Parametric studies were also conducted to analyze the impact of technical gaps, copper thickness, and collar height on the temperature reduction. The numerical model revealed that the presence of gaps between the components of the engineered barrier significantly increased the buffer temperature. Furthermore, the reduction in buffer temperature varied depending on the location of the gap and collar. The methods proposed in this study for reducing the buffer temperature hold promise for contributing to cost reduction in radioactive waste disposal.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.560-565
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• 2007

Copper fine particles, ranging from $0.11{\mu}m$ to $0.64{\mu}m$ in average size, were prepared by a chemical reduction method using hydrazine ($N_2H_4$) as a reduction agent in waste copper solutions. The effect of the amount of hydrazine addition was investigated on the properties of the obtained powders. Also, the effect of the addition of dispersing agents [Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP)] during particle synthesis was studied. The powders, obtained from 1 M waste copper solutions, showed the mixtures of Cu and $Cu_2O$ crystals at low hydrazine addition amounts of 0.8 mol and 1.0 mol, while those exhibited pure Cu crystals at adequate hydrazine addition amount of 0.12 mol. The average size of the Cu powders decreased with increasing the concentrations of hydrazine and dispersing agents. The addition of PVA to the solutions as a dispersing agent was more effective than that of PVP in preventing the aggregation of particles.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.300-303
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• 2010

Environmental issues on the waste emission and its treatment are of great interest in these days. In order to resolve the pollution problems, recycling the waste materials is generally recommended. Especially, emission of waste acids in designated sources is increasing every year. In this study, we focused on the effective recycling of the waste acids rather than treatments. Management systems of the waste acids are not systematically designed, and the quality of the waste regulation on the recycling product is unclear in domestic and foreign countries. We surveyed the present conditions on domestic waste emission and recycling of waste acids. For the final analysis of the recycling products, iron chloride, iron sulfate, copper cyanide, copper oxides, and cement copper are selected as candidates. We expect that this article would help establishing the systematic management system on treating the waste acid materials.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2016

In this study, thermal-hydrological-chemical modeling for the alteration of a bentonite buffer is carried out using a simulation code TOUGHREACT. The modeling results show that the water saturation of bentonite steadily increases and finally the bentonite is fully saturated after 10 years. In addition, the temperature rapidly increases and stabilizes after 0.5 year, exhibiting a constant thermal gradient as a function of distance from the copper tube. The change of thermal-hydrological conditions mainly results in the alteration of anhydrite and calcite. Anhydrite and calcite are dissolved along with the inflow of groundwater. They then tend to precipitate in the vicinity of the copper tube due to its high temperature. This behavior induces a slight decrease in porosity and permeability of bentonite near the copper tube. Furthermore, this study finds that the diffusion coefficient can significantly affect the alteration of anhydrite and calcite, which causes changes in the hydrological properties of bentonite such as porosity and permeability. This study may facilitate the safety assessment of high-level radioactive waste repositories.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.557-566
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• 2011

A cold spray coating (CSC) of copper was studied for its application to a high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal canister. Several copper coatings of 10 mm thick were fabricated using two kinds of copper powders with different oxygen contents, and SS 304 and nodular cast iron were used as their base metal substrates. The fabricated CSC coppers showed a high tensile strength but were brittle in comparison with conventional non-coating copper, hereinafter defined to as "commercial copper". The corrosion behavior of CSC coppers was evaluated by comparison with commercial coppers, such as extruded and forged coppers. The polarization test results showed that the corrosion potential of the CSC coppers was closely related to its purity; low-purity (i.e., high oxygen content) copper exhibited a lower corrosion potential, and high-purity copper exhibited a relatively high corrosion potential. The corrosion rate converted from the measured corrosion current was not, however, dependent on its purity: CSC copper showed a little higher rate than that of commercial copper. Immersion tests in aqueous HCl solution showed that CSC coppers were more susceptible to corrosion, i.e., they had a higher corrosion rate. However, the difference was not significant between commercial copper and high-purity CSC copper. The decrease of corrosion was observed in a humid air test presumably due to the formation of a protective passive film. In conclusion, the results of this study indicate that CSC application of copper could be a useful option for fabricating a copper HLW disposal canister.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.482-488
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• 1997

Copper recovery from waste water of electronic industry has been conducted effectively in a fluidized bed reactor. Initial concentration of copper in the waste water, liquid flow rate in the reactor, reaction temperature and time and current density between the cathode and anode in the reactor have been selected as operating variables. The effects of operating variables on the recovery of copper have been studied. It has found that the copper resolved in the waste water can be recovered continuously by means of a fluidized bed reactor The recovery of copper decreased with an increase in the initial concentration of copper in the waste water, while it increased with increasing reaction time and current density, however, it exhibited its maximum value with the variations of liquid flow rate and reaction temperature. The optimum reaction condition to maintain the copper recovery around 85% is as follows ; $X_o=3wt%$, $U_L=0.5cm/s$, $T=25^{\circ}C$, $I=7A/dm^2$ and t=2hrs within this experimental condition.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2019.05a
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• pp.175-176
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• 2019