30.01.2008 // Minatom.ru

The Department for Liquid Metal Coolants and New Materials manages the most promising projects of the Institute for Physics and Power Engineering

In 2007 the Department, employing almost 90 people and headed by professor Pyotr Partynov, won a number of scientific contests organized by Rosatom and Rosnauka.

Among the key projects of the Department are the technology of heavy liquid metal coolants based on lead and bismuth, the technologies for treatment of liquid radioactive waste and purification of water and gases, nanotechnologies and new materials, methods for control of liquid and gaseous mediums.

The most successful project of the Department is the technology for production of new generation of nano-structured membranes applied for filtration of liquids. Depending on the purpose and conditions of filtration, membranes can be polymeric, ceramic, metal or composite. Such membranes ensure effective filtration and regeneration (self-purification) of filters. The authors of the project have created a data base for selecting necessary parameters for specific filtration. That is, they have designed a principally new nano-structured class of filtering materials. 

Shortly, the Department is planning to design software for automatic control of the production of membranes with tailor-made properties. This technology is expected to help us to have high-quality pure drinking water at schools, kindergartens, hospitals and other institutions and to effective purify food liquors and water in pools and heating systems.

The Department is also working to design filters for purifying gas mediums. It has already introduced a production of new highly-efficient aerosol filters for air purification at nuclear, metallurgical and radio-chemical plants. The new filters have no retainers and are much cheaper and efficient.

IPPE has big experience of production of different control systems for nuclear power plants. Presently, the institute is designing solid electrolyte sensors, so-called capsule sensors, used for control of oxygen in liquid lead and lead-bismuth, hydrogen and oxygen in liquid sodium and hydrogen and oxygen in NPPs’ gas circuits and premises. The sensor is made of oxide ceramic, can endure high temperature and thermal shocks and has high conductivity and low gas permeability.

The ceramic is made of partly stabilized ZrO2 and nano-structured AlOOH aerogel. AlOOH is synthesized by original liquid metal technology based on selective oxidation of metals dissolved in lead (lead-bismuth, gallium).

The achievements in the field of heavy coolant technologies served as the physical-chemical and technical basis for the designing of new, highly competitive liquid and gas purification systems. Based on the new plasma chemical technology, the Department is preparing for serial production of membranes and filters for different purification systems. Under this project the Department is ready to cooperate with different research laboratories.

This year the Department is going to continue its cooperation with Rosnauka. Particularly, it is considering subjects for new contracts.