| Title |
Feasibility of Compression-Molded Aluminosilicate Foams for Volatile Cesium Off-Gas Treatment |
| Authors |
소병진(Byoungjin So) ; 류재수(Jae Soo Ryu) |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.3365/KJMM.2026.64.9.792 |
| ISSN |
1738-8228(ISSN), 2288-8241(eISSN) |
| Keywords |
Aluminosilicate foam filter; Compression molding; Space holder technique; Sacrifical template; Off-gas treatment; Volatile cesium; Fission product capture |
| Abstract |
Open-cell ceramic filters have attracted considerable attention as promising candidates for capturing volatile radioactive species generated during the pyroprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. Among these species, cesium is regarded as one of the major concerns due to its high volatility and high decay heat. Aluminosilicate-based foam filters are particularly attractive for cesium capture because they form stable Cs-aluminosilicates (CsAlSiO4 and CsAlSi2O6) and possess a highly porous structure, excellent thermal stability, and superior chemical compatibility. Additionally, the compression molding process provides a simple, scalable, and cost-effective fabrication route that allows for facile control over porosity and pore structure. In this study, aluminosilicate foam filters were fabricated via a sacrificial template-assisted compression molding and sintering process. Kaolinite-based aluminosilicate powders were utilized as the ceramic matrix, while charcoal particles were employed as sacrificial space holders to generate interconnected open-cell pore structures. The resulting porous ceramics exhibited high porosities values ranging from 0.692 to 0.730 depending on the charcoal content. Increasing the charcoal content led to larger pore sizes and a concomitant reduction in compressive strength. Three-dimensional micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) analysis revealed well-interconnected pore networks and a decrease in tortuosity with increasing porosity, indicating enhanced fluid transport characteristics. These results demonstrate that the proposed compression molding and sintering approach provides a simple, scalable, and effective route for fabricating porous ceramic filter media suitable for volatile cesium capture systems in pyroprocessing applications. |