r

. LA-UR- 93-3103

Title: OF PLUTONIUM PARTS

1. ‘c-l b, L’/, J ,. * .. ..- ‘*. L , d

Author(s): S. J. Hale

SubmiMd 10, Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing Congress ’93 Arlington, VA August 30, 1993

---- - .=-_ .=— .... --- ~- — ——.--- .

LosAlamos NAIION AI lAFiollA1C)R%

l(IHAIIIIIII)k N(ItII)IIIIl lnlMIIutIIIV, dIIn~IfIIInlIvu III:lIIIII/wIIInl IIIqxIIIIIIIIty uI?qk)yoIr, In IIImI#IuII IIy IIIMIIIIIvnI~IIIy (II(:MIII(IIIIIII IIIIItInl I!i I)IIIIIIIIIIIUIII I)IIII(IIUY IIIIIfIII IIIIIIIUCI w ?41M I N(1 m IlyMI:I:mJIWIII.MIIlllIIm mIM;lu, WI IIIIIIIIIIIIUI IIII:IIUIIIIWI 111111Ihn IIs (IOVWIIIIIUI II mm II IIIIIIUWIIIMVM, II IVINIV IIIIU IIOJIIIIII !(I IMIIIIIslI III IoIInIMtIII:mIIIu IIIIIMIntIwl 1111111I)ltlIIR (:IIIIIIIIIIIIII)tI, (IIIIIIIllIW (Il!IuIn III IkInI), l{111I!; (lI)VmIItImIIII MIIInInUM llIWl I)n AltiIIIIIh NWIIIIIIIIl lIIlnIInIIIIV Ifflllllllll lllnllllu l)llllllmlldf l(klllll~ltllm nllHIMllH wlllh~mltlllflMl lllKlul lhclnukpwaht,! Iht!ll s l)Ul)dl!lllUlll Oli Iluruy ~ lIIItIINIInltIllII Y ,;1 .,11; ,!1 1(1 111 f-!l. 11)11~1111, ,rl 1 ,,, .,, :, 1.,1 1,. I Ihll ll\#llll ; SUPERCRITICAL FLUID CARBON DIOXIDE CLEANING OF PLUTONIUM PARTS

Stephanie J. Hale John M. Haschkc Liiwrcncc E. Cox

Los Alamos Nalional Labora[oW Los Alamos, New Mexico 87544

ABSTRACT

Supcrcritical fluid (SCF) ctirhon dioxide (COT) is hcing cvaluamd for usc w ii cleaning so]vcnt [o replace 1,1,1-tricl~lor(~c[hal~l:for the final cleaning of pluumium (Pu) pans. Thc,sc paIIs mus[ hc free of orgunic residue [0 avoid corrosion in lhc S[ockpilc. ‘1’hcrmmlynamic iind kinc[ic dtiu~ for sclcctcd mac[io,ls of Pu nmtal am cvaluaw.1 iIs ti basis for usscssing [hc risk 01 ;I vio]cn[ cxo[hcrmic rtxlion during (IICusc of SC1~ C(~2 on Pu. The ntxxl for considering kinc[ic hvhavior 01 n rctic[ion in ilss~ssing i[s Lhcrmal risk is dcmons[ra[cd. Wcigh[ diffcnincu &IUIilnd rcsu]ts of xray pho(ocltxmm spc.c[roscopy [Ol!vi~ltlii[~[hc surfuce af[cr rxposurc to [hc supcrcritical Iluid show [h:I[ SCl; C’ol is illl l’(lcclivc illld U)lllpilIihlL’ Cltilllill# SOIVCII1.

1.() INTRODIJ(’TION

‘Ik objccliw of [his Wol’k is 10 (11’Vl’lop H clt’;lning pll)LX!SS wl]ic’h Uilll 1)(’ U!;L’(1 [() L’l(milll h Pii[’ls, ‘111(s I’(I Pillls :Irc I’till’il[l’(lly L’)ill(ML’d [() Viirlous ()]’giil]l~ s~ll)s[ill)~.(’sduril~p [Ill’ Llhricillion illld ilS.SClllt)ly 01 W1’il]lol] Cl)llllN)Ill!llL$, ‘1’hu.w’~wgiulic residues mus[ IR* ICIIIOVLXIfrom Ihc Pilris IO i~v(~i(!corrosi(m” in IIN” s[ockpilr, ‘I”ypic;llly, [11(’S1’ol”gilllit. residues UIVrcnl[)vwl ill Vilpol” {1(’~,1~’ilS(!l’S usil)g lliIlo~~llil[U,d llyLI1.OCiil”hollS” SUCII ilS 1,1, I-[richloroc[llill~ l:” ill~(l ctirh(m [~’[t;lc’l}loli(llt. Wi[h IIWc“urrcn( ~[lviro[ltllt’[~[ill issuths illld l’t!~Ulillol”y 11’(ltliI.1*1111’ills,il Ilil.$ 11(’(’01111” ll(!LX’SSilry 10 ilVoid [IRS11S(’ 01” 11)(’S1. Solvl’ills.

2.() l~[lNl)/flVl]{N’I’Al,S OIJS1ll)l{l{(‘l{l’I’l( ’Al, 1~1,[111)(’A141N)N1)10)(1!)1; shows Lhat liquid-like densities can be achmvcd and sLill remain In Lhe gas . Wha[ makes C02 such a promising cleaning solvcnl is Lhc fact Lhat liquid-like dcnsi[ics can provide ]iquid-like solven[ propcnics. Tt-mrc is tic added bcnefi( of the gas-like characteristics providing improved mass transport properties, Carbon dioxide is a good for non-polar LOslighdy polar organic substances.

Tomoerature ‘C

740- 400- Gas 370- p 3oo- : 220- g 3 150- : I..qwd c 74- .:’t 50- 36 J Ga.,. (.lqm ILnmllbr,ll(l,

1- 1..– .-. 1.- .–..1–– .–.J - 7’8 !,[) 75 I(-J , :>~ [),r),,\l” ,,ml\

l:ig. I Phase Diagranl 01”C( )1

3.() (’ohll)A’I’ll llI_l’l’Y

‘I”hcll~t.l[l]t)tiyll:llllics ~11’(I)c oxid:llion” i)!’ pl~l(otliuln ill ‘I’M LCnn is -10.4 kdlmol and AH is -156.9 kal.hol al lIw cri[ical pressure. Since dw opcruling umdilions for S~’l: C(JI arc cxpcclcd lo h~:near 40”C and 200 alm [3], considcra[iml should bc given m [hc dwrmodymnic bl:havior al substantially higher pressures. At [hcsc conditions, AG is -147.6 kcal/mole wld S for C02 is 34.8 cal/K mol. TTc rcsulling AH valw is -157.2 Iwallmol. lIw heal prt~duccd by Lhc rcac[ion al lhc criiiciil poin[ and at cpcrating conditions is lightly ICSS than al standard conditions; thcrcfmc, the lhcrn,al hazurd is not incrcascd.

The l-m that Lhc oxida[im of PU ir! C’OTis a thclmodynamlc:-dly favoriihlc rcacxion uocs noi assess [hc Iisk associn[cd wilh [hc react.hm. The ra!c of [Iw rcaclioll is rcquirui for U Villid iLSSCSSmCnl. A ha~.ardou!i silualion occurs only when [he ruk 01” l’1’ilC[ioll is S!lCh [hilltlIlilCCCplilhlL’Icmpcrolurc l’xcursiwls m: cnctlun[cr~’d. Ik’vious s[udil’s havr shown [11:11k ruk 01 oxidu[i~m ol” I% in C’OJ :11 Icmpm[urcs in which llw cleaning syslcm will opcralc’ ml: V1’IY$IOW illl(i ncgu[c lhc p[)ssihilily of Ulhcnnol cxcur. sion, ‘1’h~w is no kinc(ic dil[il I\M lhc (midali(m 01”i% hy Cop al supcrcrilical t.(mdi[ions. “1’]lL’ l!~pl~~[d[ioll Is [h;l[ [hi’ kinc[ic.s will 1)1’ similar ;II supcrcrilit.;]l c’lmdili(ms [(~ Ihc known kinl’[its ;11 SlllK’I’iIiCill c(mdili(llls. ‘1’his is Uonsisl{’111wi[h rl’.~ul[s 01” sludi~’s purl(wmcd hy IIw ~lulh(ws ill which l’rL’sillyIu]rnishl’d I)LI Lx)uptms wL’rL’L’xposL’d [L) high d~’nsily C’(.+ (().8 (I.() &!/cL’)al 3(M)() 4500” psi illl(l 11’1ll]Jl’1’:lllll”L’s I’rtml 40’” 1[1 I ()()[’ C l“t)r onc h(NIr, ‘I”hcrl’ U’ilS m) dlsl(’( 1111111’(Jxid;llion, no visihl~’ ~’llilll~t’[1) [Ill’ Sill.f~lCL’, illld 110 lllilSS L’llilll~l’.

4.(1 ( ‘1.I’:ANIN(; STIJI)lES

l!xp(’I illh’ills w(’r(’ lNsrl”orIIlr(l ill whi:h 1)11 lv~(lp{)lls w’I.’r:’ l“r(’sl~ly Illlrilisht’(1 ;111(1 L’OIl[ill llillil[L’(! \Vl[h d klloWll (](lilll[l[~ of NVL’ W~l[L”]l01]. “1’11(’(’()! 11)()11S W1’l”li [111’11I)lill’(’(1 it, IIN’ (’lt’;lnill~l ill_l]l;lrUltlS illl(l 1’X]M)S1’(110 Ilt)wing (‘( )! :II th’msilil’s r;tll~:il)g I“rol]i (),7 ltl (1,1)@L’(’tptl’ssur~% l’illl~lll~ l’1’(~111I(153 10 ~(lo{) P.$i, iil)(l 1111’ lL’1lll)(’l’il[(lrl’ ill ‘10”( ‘, A Siitl)l)lilll! t~l” IIMSLI II:SUIK is /Jiv(ll~ in I:igurl’ 2 Ily W1*IIIJII dil’ll’r(’tl~-l’,illl INII [m(~ 1(’S1SlloWt’(1 111:11IIN’ oil 111110111()1111’C’()(IIN)I)wilS l’(’lll~~vt’(1 1~~ 1111’S( ‘l; (‘( ),1 lJl”OL1’Sh. Al[houyh W(IIIIIII dil’ltilcncc (MIly lm)\II(llIs itll”lml~n[l[~ll [t) () I l]lilli~!r:llll ILIW’IS, [I]is

(Iillil U’il S ;l(h’(]11~11(’1’01”illuslrillill~! 111(’ ~“l(’;lnill}! IIoltv]li;ll. Ill I:ij!(lrt’ ? (’ilt’1)Il:lil’ 1~11111!

11111111Jl”l.\ 111(11(’~11(’S[11(’:111101111101 oil ill)jlll(’(1illlll !ll(- illll~)lllll (11 011 1(’I I) I)W’(1 1{111) /1,1 Il)(ll(”ill(’11 Illill 111(11”1”oil Wil S l[mllil~l’t’tl 111;111w’;l~ :1]1]111’”(1‘1”111.\11111HIIW’(1 111(’(111(’\llllll (1I 11)(’ Illlwll)llllv !11 r(’l; )ovlll~! 1:1(’1;11 ;1s Wl”ll ‘1”11(’wll!l’1(’11111’ol I’111111wllll(l 1101 51)1111)111/(’ 11){’ I’ll, 1111111)(’1’(’ 1.IUII(I IN’ .1 (1111’\lllll) ;Ill(llll 1111’11111’l;l(”lll )11 (~1 W’; llt’l. ( ‘( ),, illl(l I’ll ‘1’lh’1(’1(11”(’, ii [1”S1 Wilh 1)(”1’l”ol’llli’(1 WI II) !) ~)41{ ~’ 01 \t’ill(’l ;I(l(ll’(1 10 1111’ SIII)IIIIIIII(;II 1“1111(1 whik’ (Sxl)osil]j! 111(’1“111111II) iI 1’11 (’~)illIIlll /\ll!’l Sl;lll(’ (’\l Nl\ll l{’ Iol ;III 1111111 ,11 ,10”( ‘ ;III(I ,UKX) psi ( ‘( ),, Ilh’ LI)IIl)I)t) lIIII\S 111(11’;IM’11 IIV i) (MN)I1II “1’111’l11”,1 111{11{,111’11IIlill 1111’11’ 1S V1’1’y 11111(’ 11111’l;l(’1 11111Ill III(’ I’ll W’llt) U’illt’l ill 111(’SI’ 1’~111(1111(111’1

Yllll; li (’ (’\’! 1111,11loll\ WK’1”(’p(’1”11111111’11\\”l Ill \lJ\ I’1}llllh’11’1 111111 $[11’(’1111’,(I)I)V (xl’s) I \\’l) 1111111111111111(’(II II NIIIS \vl’11’ 111’,11(’(1Ilh’llllt’lllly 1)~ M 1,111111}1111(’ \llll;l(l’ 11) I’XI1!)’,1’ . . ,.

ckm mcml and then air oxidiz,cd for 15 minutes. onc coupon was immediately evaluated by XPS for a rcfcrcncc while the other was clcancd in C02 and [hen

NORMALIZED Mo. OIL (6.18 - 1) .—.— -—. .__ —.- 0.6

0.6

0.4

0.3

T 0.2 1, 1 xx xxx i 0.1 ! *’ x ‘# . I 0 -1 ; }.!...... -0.1 111! Alli Ill 1.1.111I Jill !33446Li 867788 99101011111212 RUN # (OIL APPI. IED: OIL REMOVED)

~. 2 Rcnlt)val of oil Irorn 1% with SCl: C02

do[tL’~ lint’) Lx)nlparcd (() [Ilc llnc’leaned COLlpolN” (Uppl:l”. f(llid line), ‘1’hc Clc;lIIL’d C[)upotl cotlltiins 110silicon peak :illd (lIL’iidvcll{iliou!i cilrt}oll scull tit 280 CV is ~l”Ciltly ll’d ULX’(!,

,\m4r ..- ————mxmwd●k oxtimd~Jm 3 —.—-—.——.twI—cbmmdWPS4som

i “’b&y ~ -’ .&..1--”A .... A...... A.---I--A- k.—— J 600 480 400 #so 300 1s0 too 160 foo 60- i PQlndlt?g““”-1Etmrw (ev) 1’1}!1 ?(1)s1)1’1’(1Surl’m’(’ . . . .

peak aL 286 eV is commonly a slablc peak which is frcyucntly u.scd as a rcfcrcncc peak in XPS. Ofwn this carbon must bc spullcrcd off 10 remove i[ from [hc XPS spcc(rum. The rcducxion of advcn[i[ious carbon is a preliminary indicmion tha[ Ihc rmmoval of simple hydrocarbon from plutonium surl’ac~s is easily accomplished in supcrcritical fluid carhm dioxide.

I’ig. 4 XI’S 01 Pu SurF~ct*: I:xpmkxl Cilrt)(m I“hlvclopc

I .’.

Figure 6 shows that the ovcrlaycr matix is greatly rcduucci in the cleaned coupnn indicating a marked decrcasc in the adsorbed speciesand general surface cleaning.

l...!...... ‘s 4ao 45s 4s0 44s 440 4M 430 4z~ 410 418 410 Bhdlng EmIDY (oV)

l:ig. 6 XI’S 01 1% !$uri”ucc

6.() SIJMMARY

Although ttw Llwrlnodynamics ~Jl”dw oxidti[ion (JI plutonium in supcrcri[iu;ll fluid rtirh(m dioxide. indicil[cs till cxollmmic illl(l SpollliillCOUS” 11’ilclion, [h! kindics arc so slow (Ilil[ Il)c rmction (Iocs nol I)ccur wi[l)in 111(’I-’xposurL” [inlcs. ‘1’cs[s using wcighl dil”f(’rcncc ml ViSUill ohS1’l”Villi(lll ;1S WCI1 ilS XPS (Iillilc(mfinn [hilt plu[(mium is tomp:lliblc wi[h [Ilc supcrclilll”;ll Iluid (’il~llolldioxidl’. ‘l”Ill’ XI]S dil[;l JIS() provide d prl?lillli!lill’y illdicillioll ~ha[ [111’ 1“1’IIII)V:II 01” llylll”OCill 11011 1’1”!)111(h’ plutoniuln S110111(1110[

bc di l’l”icul[, All indica[i(ms ;II1’ [l~il[{k s~]pl:.r~~ili~miil1“11.lidcdrhon dioxide is :111 rl”l”(’clivl’ ~.lcuning soIvcn[ I’tlr plu(onillm Sll~l”ilL’1’S,

l{l*;lI’l(l{l;N(’l~:S

) ,,, -.—‘I’1ll’l”llll)d~.- llilllliL’—— li(lll\’-ll(Lll,\. })1 ti&W’\. V(}II , Iillll(”l Wollll, I Am(l(m. l~)so. STEPHANIE HALE JOHN HASCHKE LAWRENCE COX OBJECTIVE

DEVELOP A CLEANING PROCESS TO CLEAN PLUTONIUM PARTS

AVOID THE USE OF HALOGENATED HYDROCARBONS

FIND A SOLVENT THAT IS ENVIRONMENTALLY ACCEPTABLE NON –HAZARDOUS NON –TOXIC NON–COMBUSTIBLE READILYAVAILABLE RECYCLABLE LOW COST NOT REGULATED COMPATIBLE EFFECTIVE PURPOSE FOR CLEANING

E~POSURE.. TO ORGANIC SUBSTANCES DURING FABRICATION

2 CLEANLINESSCRITERION= 5– 10pg/cm

.-......

AVOID CORROSION IN STOCKPILE

...... :...... ,...~:~:”..:”7.-.-..,. :.,,,X SL-PERCRITICALFLUID FUNDAMENTALS :.:.

..,.

...... LIQUEFACTIONOCCURS VITHENA GAS IS SUFFICIE~JTLY COMPRESSED BELOW THE Tc

ABOVE Tc LIQUEFACTIONDOES NOT OCCUR

SU’PERCRITIC.ALFLU-IDISTHE COMPRESSED GAS PHASE ABOJ;ETHE Tc

CRITICALPOINT CARBON DIOXIDE:31 C, ’74BAR

.-A-...... PHASE DIAGRAM OF CARBON DIOXIDE

Temperature “C

740

400 370 300 220

al 5 150 09 (n c1 E 74 50 / 36 J t wool I I i G~s-Liquid ‘\ I \ -6o Equilibrium / \ I Ill 90° \ / . I \ \ 1 1 I t 1 .25 .50 .75 1.0 1.25 Density(ghi)

...... ,., ...... ,. (GENiRAL)

...

I_IGL-!7. –LIKE DENSITIESAND LIQUID–LIKE. SOL :,. :,:!.. .,., GOOD FOR \O\–POLAR & SLIGHTLYPCLAR COMPOUNDS

GAS–LIKE CH-\RA\CTERIsTICS IMPROVED MASS TRANSPORT OVER LIQUIDS SL-PEI?CIWI’ICALFLUID C02 AS A CLEANING SOLVENT (’SPECIFICALLY. FOR CLEANING PLUTONIUM PARTS)

G(3CDSOL1-ENTFOR CONTAMINANTS OF INTEREST

LEAi-ES\O UNDESIRABLE RESIDUE

“GASPHASE b~EP\RATION7*- * OF SOLVENT. M.INTIMIZESMIXED WASTE

GPNER4TIOX~i SIGNIFICANTLY.-

KIXETICSAXD THERMODYNAMICS

~H0298 kcal/mole

–252.4 –238.5 Puis)– ~ptg’j--- = moz(~)

p~(~) – flp(gj = PuH2(s) –39.2 g-g .... ESTIW--.TED. ??-TEOF OXID.41’10~AT 0.67AThf, 25 C = ..,< ,.,,..... 30 nmol 02 ,/cm 2 hr ..

E::SETIC RE5L-LTS FOR HYDRIDIXG AT 1 ATM, 25 C =

60 mmol HP ,’cm 2 hr . .

SL-PERCRiTiCALFLUID CARBON DIOXIDEAND PLUTONIUM COMPATIBILI~

FRESHLY BURNISHED PLUTONIUM COUPONS 2 3 cm area

p = 3200 psig P = 4500 psig T=35–40C T= 100 c d = 0.8 – 0.9g,.;ycc d = 0.’75 g/cc

S0 \-lSUALCHANGES TO SURFACE NG CMANGE IN MASS OF COUPONS .

REMOVAL OF OIL FROM Pu WITH SCF C02 CC)2 Densities 0.7 to 0.9 g/cc Contaminant: Nye Watch Oil

NORMALIZED Mg. OIL (6.18= 1]

0.6 1

i

0.5 ! I -Ii1 T I 0.4 T -L I 1 I I 0.3 { I

0.2 px,q X=* 0.1

0 A

/ f ,. . . I # [ 1 I I I i I I 1 1 A -0=1 t h I 1122334455667 78809101011111212 RUN # (OIL APPLIED: OIL REMOVED)

Run Time-30 min. FIow-0,02 Ipm Temp.-4O” C Pros8uro=1663-4069 psig ● . .

WATER TEST

● TEST CONDITIONS: 0.023 g F$O; 1 HR; STATIC;40 C; 3000 PSI

● OBSERVATIONS: COUPOX TURNED BLUE & GAINED 0.0004 g

● CONCLUSIONS: No LOSS OF METAL VERY LITTLEWATER INTERACTED SL-PERCRITICALFLUID CARBON IdOXIDECLEANING H-4SBEEN SHOWN TO BE EFFECTIVEAND WILL BE IMPLEMENTED TO REPLACE 1,1,1– TRICHLOROETHANE FOR CLEANING PLUTONIUM PARTS.

THIS CLEA\-ING--- PROCESS COULD BE USED FOR OTHER REACTIVEMETALS OR ITEMS WITH COMPLEX GEOMETRIES- .- .

..-