Filtration of Sodium-Fire Aerosols

Different filter devices have been developed and tested with respect to their use in the off-gas system of liquid-metal fast breeder reactors to prevent the escape of sodium-fire aerosols that might be formed in case of an accident. The testing results have shown that the use of a multilayer sand bed filter is still the best method to filter limited amounts of sodium-fire aerosols over a long operating time. Efficiencies on the order of 99.98 and 98.8% were reached for loading capacities of 500 and 1000 g/m², respectively. Unlimited amounts of sodium-fire aerosols can be filtered by wet scrubbers with an efficiency of 70% per scrubber stage. Fiberglas filters cannot be used for the filtration of sodium-fire aerosols over a long operating time because the filter material can be destroyed after several days of operating.