Reaction chamber for exothermic material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9533816-B2
Application number	US-201113704953-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 9, 2011
Priority date	Jun 16, 2010
Publication date	Jan 3, 2017
Grant date	Jan 3, 2017

Abstract

A chamber for reacting exothermic material is disclosed, the chamber comprising a multilevel structure including at least: a receptacle for storing the material, corresponding to a lower level; a median level comprising a reactive load containing at least one alkaline-earth carbonate, so as to absorb heat emitted during the oxidation reaction of the material, the alkaline-earth carbonate decomposing under the effect of the heat in an endothermic reaction; an upper level comprising a cover. Optionally, the material stored is a carbide of plutonium and/or uranium.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A chamber for reacting exothermic oxidation of solid material, comprising a multilevel structure including:
a receptacle for said solid material, corresponding to a lower level;
a median level configured to receive heat from an exothermic reaction during oxidation of said solid material in the receptacle, wherein the median level is placed above the receptacle to receive the heat being emitted during the oxidation of the said solid material; wherein the median level comprises a reactive load containing at least one alkaline-earth carbonate slab, or at least one alkaline-earth carbonate in a divided form so as to absorb the heat emitted from the receptacle during the oxidation reaction of said solid material, said alkaline-earth carbonate decomposing under the effect of the heat in an endothermic reaction; and
an upper level comprising a cover.

2. The chamber for reacting exothermic material as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the alkaline-earth carbonate is CaCO 3 .

3. The chamber for reacting exothermic material as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the material stored is a carbide of plutonium and/or uranium.

4. The chamber for reacting exothermic material as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the reactive load furthermore comprises a plurality of different types of carbonates, so as to adjust the temperature range of the thermal decomposition of the reactive load.

5. The chamber for reacting exothermic material as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the reactive load furthermore comprises carbon.

6. The chamber for reacting exothermic material as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the receptacle of the chamber is made of a refractory metallic material which is of stainless steel.

7. The chamber for reacting exothermic material as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a mesh serving to support the reactive load and sieve it during the decomposition of said load, the reactive load being positioned in contact with said mesh.

8. The chamber for reacting exothermic material as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the reactive load is a monolithic block positioned on said mesh.

9. The chamber for reacting exothermic material as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the reactive load is distributed in various slabs positioned on said mesh.

10. The chamber for reacting exothermic material as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the reactive load is distributed in the form of granules, the particle size of the granules being larger than the size of the apertures in said mesh.

11. The chamber for reacting exothermic material as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a chemically inert intermediate plate ( 5 ) providing a seal between the reactive load and the upper level.

12. The chamber for reacting exothermic material as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the intermediate plate is made of tungsten.

13. The chamber for reacting exothermic material as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising means for applying an isostatic pressure to the reactive load.

14. The chamber for reacting exothermic material as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the means for applying an isostatic pressure to the reactive load are integrated into the upper level and take the form of two plates between which springs are inserted.

15. The chamber for reacting exothermic material as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the means for applying an isostatic pressure to the reactive load comprise a weight.

16. The chamber for reacting exothermic material as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the median and upper levels coincide, the chamber comprising two upper shutters securely fastened to the receptacle and capable of closing said container, said shutters containing the alkaline-earth carbonate.

17. The chamber for reacting exothermic material as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the median level comprises a reactive load containing alkaline-earth carbonate granules.

Assignees

• Mazaudier Fabrice
• Commissariat Energie Atomique

Inventors

• Mazaudier Fabrice

Classifications

• G21F9/28

  Treating solids · CPC title

• G21F9/30

  Processing (separating different isotopes of the same chemical element B01D59/00) · CPC title

• B65D81/18 Primary

  providing specific environment for contents, e.g. temperature above or below ambient (with thermal insulation B65D81/38) · CPC title

• G21C3/623 Primary

  Oxide fuels · CPC title

• Y02E30/38

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic