HiAir Korea Co., Ltd. Dramatically Reduces IAEA-Regulated Radioactive Carbon Concentration
"Achieving Commercialization to Pioneer New Era in Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning Technology"
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] As 'nuclear industry waste' accumulates, the technology to process it is also advancing.
Hi-Air Korea Co., Ltd. acquired the original technology for the 'Method and Device for Removing Radioactive Substances in Spent Activated Carbon,' developed by the Decommissioning Technology Research Department of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT's Nuclear Research and Development Project in December 2018, and began practical development.
This was a new business venture through a technology implementation contract under the support project for nuclear power plant decommissioning technology development by Gyeongnam Province.
Activated carbon is one of the core materials in nuclear power plant air purifiers. In the case of activated carbon installed in nuclear power plant air purifiers, radioactive contaminants such as tritium (3H) and radioactive carbon (14C) exceed regulatory release concentrations, thus being classified as radioactive waste and stored within the plant for long periods.
A groundbreaking technology that can treat this as general industrial waste has been developed domestically through industry-academia cooperation, attracting attention and interest from the nuclear industry.
This technology expands the micropores of spent activated carbon through thermochemical treatment, then physically and chemically desorbs and separates tritium and radioactive carbon contaminants, ultimately recovering them in the form of '14CO2 (carbon dioxide)' and '3H2O (water)'.
Hi-Air Korea Co., Ltd. is conducting a project for demonstration and verification of spent activated carbon treatment as part of the Ministry of Science and ICT's Nuclear Research and Development Project.
Finally, in a simulated demonstration test, it was confirmed through Radsol Co., Ltd., a specialized radiation analysis company, that the radioactive carbon concentration in spent activated carbon dropped below the regulatory release standard concentration (1 Bq/g).
Hi-Air Korea announced on the 30th that a demonstration test at Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power is forthcoming.
Jeon Young-kwon, Vice President of Hi-Air Korea, expressed, "By treating spent activated carbon contaminated with radioactive substances, the volume that needs to be stored can be reduced to one-twentieth, securing storage space and significantly reducing treatment costs. Moreover, if commercialization succeeds, it will open a new chapter in the treatment of spent activated carbon, one of the challenging technologies in nuclear power plants."
He explained, "This technology can not only enter overseas markets in this field but also be applied to other radioactive wastes, achieving a new milestone in nuclear power plant decommissioning waste treatment technology."
Headquartered in Gimhae, Gyeongnam, Hi-Air Korea is a global leader in shipbuilding and offshore plant air conditioning and refrigeration fields. After obtaining certifications in the Korea Electric Power Industry Code (KEPIC) for machinery (MN), air conditioning (MH), and electrical (EN) fields, it entered the nuclear power plant business in 2005 by supplying air conditioning equipment for the Shin-Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant construction.
It has supplied air conditioning equipment to the Shin-Kori Units 3 and 4 radioactive waste disposal facility, Shin-Hanul Units 1 and 2, and currently to Shin-Kori Units 5 and 6, advancing as a leading company in the nuclear power plant air conditioning equipment sector.
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