Dissertation
Characterization of the Adsorbed Species of Molecular Iodine on Metal Substrates
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
01/2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000005491
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/119374
Abstract
Molecular iodine is one volatile species of iodine which is released in the event of a nuclear accident. The release of radioiodine poses a concern to public health because the human body relies on iodine for normal metabolic processes and will bioaccumulate iodine from food and other sources. If radioiodine are present in these sources, they are accumulated with stable iodine in the thyroid and can lead to thyroid cancer or other thyroid disorders. Iodine has one stable isotope with 127 amu. There are two major isotopes of radioiodine: 131I and 129I. 131I has a half-life of 8.04 days and poses the greatest threat to human health due to its high specific activity. 129I has a half-life of 15.7 mil years and consequently becomes a long-term problem for the environment. Other isotopes of radioiodine exist but they have much shorter half-lives. Molecular iodine, I2, is one gaseous species of iodine and the closer to the source of the accident the larger the fraction of gaseous iodine which is expected to be in this form. Further away the fraction goes down and that is due to the reactivity of I2. Molecular iodine will react with most surfaces to physisorb and with metal surfaces it is known to chemisorb. The chemical transformation that occurs upon chemisorption changes the species of iodine and therefore its properties, including the volatility and the chance for resuspension.This work seeks to understand the transformations that iodine undergoes upon adsorption to understand how the transport of radioiodine is impacted and in turn the concern for public health and safety. Stainless steel is used throughout reactors and is therefore a surface of interest for the interaction with iodine. This manuscript focuses on characterizing and understanding the species of adsorbed iodine on stainless steel and its metal constituents. As well as determining the parameters impacting the speciation and adsorption such as the humidity and oxygen.
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Details
- Title
- Characterization of the Adsorbed Species of Molecular Iodine on Metal Substrates
- Creators
- Chelsie Beck
- Contributors
- Sue B Clark (Advisor)Brian H Clowers (Committee Member)Brian J Riley (Committee Member)Mark Engelmann (Committee Member)Samuel Bryan (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of Chemistry
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 154
- Identifiers
- 99900592155801842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation