Robert L Brandon

US Patent:

52873927, Feb 15, 1994

Filed:

Nov 25, 1992

Appl. No.:

7/981667

Inventors:

Robert Lee Cowan II - Livermore CA
Robert J. Law - Livermore CA
James E. Charnley - Gilroy CA
Robert J. Brandon - San Jose CA

Assignee:

General Electric Company - San Jose CA

International Classification:

G21C 19317

US Classification:

376301

Abstract:

An internal passive catalytic device operating in the water phase of a boiling water reactor vessel downstream of the steam/water separator location. The device consists of catalytic material arranged and situated such that all (except perhaps a small leakage flow) water phase exiting the water/steam separator device flows over the surface of the catalytic material. The catalytic surfaces decompose dissolved hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen. When the substrate of the catalytic material is plated or alloyed with a water recombination catalyst such as a noble metal, the catalytic surfaces also catalyze the recombination of dissolved hydrogen and oxygen molecules into water. The passive catalytic device is constructed to ensure that the pressure drop of the reactor water across the device is very small. The device includes a stainless steel flow-through housing packed with catalytic material, which could take the form of tangled wire or strips, crimped ribbon, porous sintered metal composite or any other structure having a high surface area-to-volume ratio.