Speaker
Description
Noble gas monitoring systems are used in the International Monitoring System (IMS) for the verification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). They monitor the atmosphere for traces of radioxenon released by clandestine nuclear weapon tests. Radioargon is used as a complementary tracer during on-site inspections to look for underground tests. Efficient collection and purification of noble gases in porous adsorbents is essential for the detection capability of these systems. In the last decade, silver-exchanged zeolites (Ag-zeolites) have been investigated for these applications. Currently, two Ag-zeolites (Ag-ETS-10 and Ag-ZSM-5) are used in the new generation radioxenon monitoring systems in part of the collection and separation process. Ag-ETS-10 has been investigated for argon collection and separation for OSI. Each Ag-zeolite has specific noble gas adsorption properties, which are driven by the presence of silver. Other Ag-zeolites might provide further developments for radioxenon and radioargon measurements. In this work, we investigate different modified mineral chabazites, exchanged with silver, for their application in CTBT verification, by characterizing their xenon and argon collection and separation properties. Initial measurements on one sample showed a close match, to the current Ag-zeolites, used in the IMS, for Xe collection. Further results of this investigation will be discussed.
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