Date of Award
8-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Environmental Engineering and Earth Science
Committee Chair/Advisor
Timothy DeVol
Committee Member
Nicole Martinez
Committee Member
Kori McDonald
Abstract
This work successfully demonstrates solvent extraction methods for separation of oil from the by-products when two commercially available vacuum pump oils were exposed to an intense neutron and gamma-ray radiation environment. Nuclear fusion power at a commercial scale has accelerated the need for radiation resistant vacuum technology, such as oil-based diffusion pumps. Polyphenyl ether and aromatic silicone oils were irradiated at the Rhode Island Nuclear Science Center (RINSC) up to MGy absorbed doses with neutron and gamma-ray radiation. Solvent extractions were performed using hexane and isopropanol to characterize the oil extraction as a function of total absorbed dose. The by-products of irradiation, herein referred to as residue, tended to be less soluble in the solvent thus allowing for separation from the bulk oil. The polyphenyl ether oil outperformed the siloxane oil with greater than 60% of material extracted after receiving mixed gamma-neutron absorbed doses exceeding 6 MGy. The specific activity of the neutron irradiated oils was measured using liquid scintillation counting for comparison of radiation damage and to quantify the separation of radioactive material in the extraction process solutions. Isotope exchange of tritium onto the irradiated oils were also conducted, where oils display greater than 10x tritium exchange after irradiation; preferentially to the more radioactive, insoluble fraction
Recommended Citation
Tillman, Cooper L., "Extraction of Neutron-Gamma Irradiated Diffusion Pump Oils" (2024). All Theses. 4381.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/4381
Included in
Environmental Engineering Commons, Nuclear Engineering Commons, Polymer Science Commons, Radiochemistry Commons