• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.54 no.7
• /
• pp.2367-2375
• /
• 2022

In this work, we propose a new mechanistic model for the treatment of helium behaviour at the grain boundaries in oxide nuclear fuel. The model provides a rate-theory description of helium inter-granular behaviour, considering diffusion towards grain edges, trapping in lenticular bubbles, and thermal resolution. It is paired with a rate-theory description of helium intra-granular behaviour that includes diffusion towards grain boundaries, trapping in spherical bubbles, and thermal re-solution. The proposed model has been implemented in the meso-scale software designed for coupling with fuel performance codes SCIANTIX. It is validated against thermal desorption experiments performed on doped UO₂ samples annealed at different temperatures. The overall agreement of the new model with the experimental data is improved, both in terms of integral helium release and of the helium release rate. By considering the contribution of helium at the grain boundaries in the new model, it is possible to represent the kinetics of helium release rate at high temperature. Given the uncertainties involved in the initial conditions for the inter-granular part of the model and the uncertainties associated to some model parameters for which limited lower-length scale information is available, such as the helium diffusivity at the grain boundaries, the results are complemented by a dedicated uncertainty analysis. This assessment demonstrates that the initial conditions, chosen in a reasonable range, have limited impact on the results, and confirms that it is possible to achieve satisfying results using sound values for the uncertain physical parameters.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.287-297
• /
• 2013

The optimization of analytical method for the thermal desorption of seven VOCs (volatile organic compounds) by TD-GC/MS (thermal desorption-gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer) with solid phase sorbent tube, and comparative analysis for the determination of VOCs plotted by standard sorbent tubes prepared using both gas phase and liquid phase materials were investigated. The result of paired t-test showed that a liquid phase standard sorbent tube method was in agreement with a gas phase standard sorbent tube method for six species of VOCs including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-, m-, and p-xylene except for styrene at the significance level (${\alpha}=0.01$), while the 15.6% of difference in response factor between both of gas phase and liquid phase standard plotting for the determination of styrene showed that both methods were significantly different at the significance level. Therefore, the liquid phase standard plotting method was employed to reduce erroneous data for the determination of styrene including BTEX. Under the optimized analytical method by liquid phase standard sorbent tube, recovery was between $100{\pm}5%$ for 7 species of VOCs, reproducibility ranged from 0.3 to 7.7%, and method detection limit (MDL) ranged from $0.01{\mu}g/m^3$ for o-xylene to $0.27{\mu}g/m^3$ for toluene. The optimized standard method was applied to determine VOCs VOCs from indoor air of of dormitory, one bedroom apartment, and a new car.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.496-513
• /
• 2004

This study was carried out to evaluate the performance of sampling and analytical methodology used for the measurement of toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the ambient air. VOCs were determined by the adsorbent tube sampling and automatic thermal desorption coupled with GC/MSD analysis. Target analytes were 33 compounds including major aromatic compounds such as BTEX, and halogenated compounds. The methodology was investigated with a wide range of different adsorbents which are commercially available and have been frequently adopted for the VOC measurement. A total of 10 adsorbents were tested in this study: 6 carbon-based adsorbents such as Carbotrap, Carbopack B, Carbosieve S-III, Carboxen 1000, Carbotrap C, Activated Charcoal; and 4 polymer-based adsorbents including Tenax, Porapak Q, Chromosorb 102, and Chromosorb 106. The sampling performance was evaluated with respect to the sampling capacity of VOCs with single-adsorbent and multiple-adsorbents methods for standard samples and field samples. As a result, the best adsorbents for single-adsorbent method in the sampling of toxic organic compounds (including benzene, toluene, xylenes etc.) appeared to be Carbotrap, Carbopack B and Tenax TA. On the other hand, Chromosorb 102, Chromosorb 106 and Porapak Q were found to be unsuitable adsorbents for VOC measurement based on thermal desorption method. Multi-adsorbent packings were evaluated with 4 carbon-based adsorbents, which classified by 3 combination sets of double adsorbents and 2 combination sets of triple adsorbents. The results indicated that the most suitable combination for toixc VOC measurements is Carbotrap C with Carbotrap. Multi-sorbents tubes packed with a strong adsorbent such as Carbosieve S-III or Carboxen 1000 were found to be relatively unsuitable for several compounds, not only owing to the effect of migration of adsorbed compounds from weaker adsorbent to stronger adsorbent, but to hydrophobic nature of the adsorbents. Therefore, it should be addressed that selection of a proper adsorbent (or combination of multi sorbents) is extremely important to obtain reliable data for the concentrations of toxic VOCs in indoor and outdoor environments.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
• /
• v.63 no.1
• /
• pp.29-33
• /
• 2020

The objective of this study was to develop a fast and accurate method of variety discrimination and geographical discrimination origin of Korean angelica (Korean variety, Angelica gigas Nakai) by using TDU-GC/MS. Two peaks of decursin and decursinol, which are coumarin derivatives were identified in the range of Total Ion Chromatogram (TIC) RT 26.9-27.2 of the Korean angelica by GC/MS analysis at the time of condensation in a refrigerated condensation system after thermal desorption of sample extracts. In case of Chinese angelica (Chinese variety), ligustilide peak was detected at the RT 17.2. In order to investigate the difference of volatile components according to the geographical origin of Korean variety, the mass spectra were measured by TDU-GC/MS at the range of m/z 40-400 amu. The TIC of domestic cultivation and Chinese cultivation of the Korean variety, Angelica gigas Nakai showed the same tendency as a whole. However, in partial scans of TIC, two peaks detected at 15.54 and 16.05 of RT showed different peak patterns between Korean angelica (Korean variety) cultivated in Korea and in China. The ratio of Peak A (RT 15.54) and B (RT 16.05) was 0.0-0.2 for domestic cultivation and 0.5-2.8 for Chinese cultivation, confirming the possibility of discriminating origin by comparing the TIC peak pattern of TDU-GC/MS.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.91-101
• /
• 2012

A list of volatile fatty acids (VFA) including propionic acid, butyric acid, isovaleric acid, valeric acid, etc. is well known for offensive odorants. The analysis of odorant VFA is a highly delicate task due to high reactivity and unstable recovery rate. At present, analytical methods of VFA are recommended to include alkali impregnation filter method and alkali absorption method by the malodor prevention law of the Korea Ministry of Environment (KMOE). In this review, a survey has been made to explore various approaches available for the analysis of VFA to include both official methods of the KMOE and others. In light of the unreliability of those established analytical methods, it is highly desirable to develop some substituting methods for VFA. Among such options, one may consider such option as sorbent tube (ST) sampling and cryogenic trapping-thermal desorption technique. Moreover, procedures used for standard preparation, sampling steps, and instrumental detection stage are also evaluated. Application of container sampling (like Tedlar bag) is however not recommendable due to significant (sorptive) loss in sampling and in storage stage. In the detection stage, the use of GC/MS is recommendable to replace GC/FID due to the presence of diverse interfering substances. Thus, it is essential to properly establish the basic quality assurance (QA) for VFA analysis in air.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.189-198
• /
• 1994

The adsorptive behaviors of carbon monoxide and methanol over $V_2O_5$catalyst were studied by means of thermal desorptlon spectroscopy (TDS) under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. Carbon monoxide adsorbed on oxygen-deficient V sites as well as on V=O groups of the $V_2O_5$ surface. CO adsorbed on the V sites desorbed at 380 K while CO adsorbed on the V=O groups formed carbonate species with surface oxygen of $V_2O_5$ and desorbed as $CO_2$ resulting in the reduction of the surface of she $V_2O_5$catalyst. The amount of CO adsorbed in the form of carbonate species increased by both the pre- and post-adsorbed oxygen. The adsorptive behavior of methanol over the catalyst was studied by thermal desorption experiments of $CH_3OH$, HCHO, CO, and $H_2$ upon methanol adsorption at 298 K. The results showed that methanol was adsorbed dissociatively on the $V_2O_5$catalyst as methoxy and hydroxyl groups at 298K.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2000.02a
• /
• pp.175-175
• /
• 2000

Si(100) surfaces were exposed to gas-phase thermal-energy hydrogen atoms, H(g). We find that thermal H(g) atoms etch, amorphize, or penetrate into the crystalline silicon substrate, depending on the employed Ts range during the H(g) exposure. We find that etching is enhanced as Ts is lowered in the 300-700K range, while amorphous silicon hydride (a-Si:H) formation dominates at a Ts below 300K. This result was well explained by the fact that formation of the etching precursor, SiHx(a), and amorphization are both facilitated by a lower Ts, whereas the final step for etching, SiH3(a) + H(g) longrightarrow SiH3(g), is suppressed at a lower Ts. we also find that direct absorption of H(g) by the crystalline bulk of Si(100) substrate occurs within a narrow Ts window of 420-530K. The bulk-absorbed hydrogen evolved out molecularly from Si(100) at a Ts 80-120K higher than that for surface monohydride phase ($\beta$1) in temperature-programmed desorption. This bulk-phase H uptake increased with increasing H(g) exposure without saturation within our experimental limits. Direct absorption of H(g) into the bulk lattice occurs only when the surface is atomically roughened by surface etching. While pre-adsorbed hydrogen atoms on the surface, H(a), were readily abstracted and replaced by D(g), the H atoms previously absorbed in the crystalline bulk were also nearly all depleted, albeit at a much lower rate, by a subsequent D(g) at the peak temperature in TPD from the substrate sequentially treated with H(g) and D(g), together with a gas phase-like H2 Raman frequency of 4160cm-1, will be presented.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2010.02a
• /
• pp.80-80
• /
• 2010

Graphene has attracted tremendous attention for the last a few years due to it fascinating electrical, mechanical, and chemical properties. Up to now, several methods have been developed exclusively to prepare graphene, which include micromechanical cleavage, polycrystalline Ni employing chemical vapor deposition technique, solvent thermal reaction, thermal desorption of Si from SiC substrates, chemical routes via graphite intercalation compounds or graphite oxide. In particular, polycrystalline Ni foil and conventional chemical vapor deposition system have been widely used for synthesis of large-area graphene. [1-3] In this study, synthesis of mono-layer graphene on a Ni foil, the mixing ratio of hydrocarbon ($CH_4$) gas to hydrogen gas, microwave power, and growth time were systemically optimized. It is possible to synthesize a graphene at relatively lower temperature ($500^{\circ}C$) than those (${\sim}1000^{\circ}C$) of previous results. Also, we could control the number of graphene according to the growth conditions. The structural features such as surface morphology, crystallinity and number of layer were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and resonant Raman spectroscopy with 514 nm excitation wavelength. We believe that our approach for the synthesis of mono-layer graphene may be potentially useful for the development of many electronic devices.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.222-228
• /
• 2013

Objectives: The indoor air quality of newly-built (NC) and remodeled (RC) school classrooms was assessed. The primary aim was to show correlations between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and formaldehyde (HCHO) pollutant levels. Methods: This study investigated the indoor air concentrations of VOCs and HCHO at 26 sites of newly built and 68 sites of remodeled classrooms located in South Gyeongsang Province between 2010 and 2012. VOCs in the indoor air were determined by adsorbent tube (Tenax TA) and automatic thermal desorption coupled with GC-MS analysis. Target analytes were five VOCs: benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and styrene. HCHO was collected with a 2,4-DNPH cartridge and analyzed by HPLC. Conclusions: This study estimated that indoor VOCs and HCHO concentrations in the classrooms were mainly affected by interior building materials and classroom equipment. For proper indoor air quality in schools, classroom air should be improved through reduction of hazardous materials by adequate ventilation, selecting environmental friendly materials, etc.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.33 no.8
• /
• pp.2724-2730
• /
• 2012

A new heterogeneous acidic catalyst was successfully prepared by impregnation of silica (Aerosil 300) by an acidic ionic liquid, named 1-(4-sulfonic acid)butylpyridinium hydrogen sulfate [$PYC_4SO_3H$][$HSO_4$], and characterized using FT-IR spectroscopy, the $N_2$ adsorption/desorption analysis (BET), thermal analysis (TG/DTG), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The amount of loaded acidic ionic liquid on Aerosil 300 support was determined by acid-base titration. This new solid acidic supported heterogeneous catalyst exhibits excellent activity in the synthesis of 2-aryl-2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones by cyclocondensation reaction of 2-aminobenzamide with aromatic aldehydes under solvent-free conditions and the desired products were obtained in very short reaction times with high yields. This catalyst has the advantages of an easy catalyst separation from the reaction medium and lower problems of corrosion. Recycling of the catalyst and avoidance of using harmful organic solvent are other advantages of this simple procedure.