Application in the nuclear sector

Reuter technology for decontamination
in nuclear sites.

Electrochemical cleaning is also frequently used in nuclear sites to remove radioactive contamination from metal surfaces – such as containers, pipes or other metallic parts – with the aim of enabling maintenance, reuse or in case of dismantling to dismantling allow for the disposal of waste in a lower category.

In the case of radioactive contamination, only the surface of the metal is radioactively contaminated. The radioactivity is present in the form of oxides or in a few microns on the surface. During electrochemical cleaning, the oxides and few microns of the metal are dissolved which also allows contamination to be flushed out by the electrolyte liquid. This must then be disposed of carefully.

The use of flexible carbon fibre brushes instead of rigid electrodes enables a higher current density, which means that decontamination measures can be carried out very quickly. In addition, any surface geometry can be processed. Reuter products also offer a number of other advantages: in particular, the portability of the devices and the automatic supply of electrolyte have greatly expanded the areas of application in nuclear power plants.

Case study:
Reuter & Tech y Tech at the La Hague reprocessing plant

Orano, the operator of the La Hague plant, was looking for new technologies to increase the efficiency of decontamination processes while providing a higher level of radiological safety and ease of implementation.

Decontamination work needed to achieve a very high decontamination factor to make the metal waste from the dismantling of equipment and pipework compatible with surface disposal. There was already good experience with electrochemical cleaning, but only using rigid counter electrodes, which limited its use to regular, flat metal surfaces.

To test the use of carbon fibres, Orano DS decided to collaborate with Tech y Tech and Reuter. The next step was to adapt the new electrochemical equipment so that it could be used in a specialised nuclear environment: Working in Zone 4, where human access is prohibited and operations are carried out by telemanipulation. Brushes and brush holders were modified so that they are compatible with telemanipulators and can therefore be reliably operated remotely.

With many thanks for the technical input and pictures to
Frédérique Damerval, Tech Y Tech Frankreich