Currently in the UK, spent nuclear fuel is reprocessed using the PUREX (Plutonium Uranium Reduction Extraction) process. This process generates large amounts of aqueous nitric acid based waste which is reduced in volume by evaporation before being stored in stainless steel tanks pending eventual disposal to a repository after conversion into a solid wasteform. The corrosivity of nitric acid solutions towards these stainless steel storage tanks is strongly affected by the presence of oxidants that can form in situ if certain dissolved metals such as cerium, chromium, ruthenium and neptunium are present, which is invariably the case in nuclear reprocessing plant liquors. Such liquors are, however, subject to radiolysis leading to the formation of nitrous acid and NOx species in equilibrium with nitric acid and water. The redox chemistry of irradiated reprocessing plant liquors is therefore complex, depending on a large number of factors including acidity, nitrate ion concentration, temperature, pressure, radiation dose rate and the nature/concentration of dissolved species. High acidities, high temperatures and low dose rates favour the oxidation of species such as Ce(III). For example, when Ce(IV) forms, the corrosion rate of stainless steel is strongly increased since the reduction of Ce(IV) forms a kinetically-favoured path way. Furthermore, the presence of nitrous acid (which is radiolytically formed from nitrate/nitric acid) can act to reduce potential corrosion accelerators (e.g. Ce(IV)) to their non-oxidising valency states. These dependencies are only semi-quantitatively understood at present, hampering useful prediction of actual effects when conditions are changed. The research presented within this thesis is divided between two experimental campaigns which are interrelated by their applicability to highly active storage tank conditions; I. An investigation into the conditions which effect the radiolytic production of nitrous acid in nitric acid based solutions was undertaken. This included the quantitative measurement of the steady state concentration of nitrous acid experienced under different conditions. The conditions investigated include temperature, dose rate, gaseous headspace and liquor composition in order to elucidate which factors are of importance in estimating the concentration of nitrous acid which can be expected at the base of a highly active storage tank. The major result of this campaign was that nitrous acid data collected could be used to formulate a g-value of nitrous acid formation (which was found to be 0.71) and this value was used to calculate the nitrous acid production rate expected within a highly active storage tank which is a pre-requisite of underpinning the corrosion chemistry within. II. Investigation into the potential formation of in situ corrosion accelerators in a reprocessing liquor simulant was undertaken. For this, a bespoke experimental rig has been designed, built and operated in order to identify the valency of potential corrosion accelerators at high temperatures while closely representing the conditions expected at the base of a highly active storage tank. This included the simulation of nitric acid radiolysis by means of an appropriate nitrite addition underpinned by the radiolysis studies described above in (I). It was found that none of the conditions investigated were oxidising enough to promote the generation of Ce(IV), which is contrary to the current understanding and should be favourable with regards to the storage tank remnant life expectations. Results reported in this thesis provide insight into the corrosivity of reprocessing liquors under representative storage tank conditions at various temperatures (up to the local liquor saturation temperature) and this knowledge will help improve remnant life predictions of the highly active storage tanks on the Sellafield site.

Thesis (M. S.)--Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. / Committee Chair: David Tan; Committee Member: Greg Huey; Committee Member: Marc Stieglitz; Committee Member: Paul Wine; Committee Member: Robert Black.

Atmospheric nitrous acid (HONO) is a significant and sometimes dominant OH source at polar region. An improved method of detecting HONO is developed using photo-fragmentation and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). The detection limit of this method is 2-3 pptv for ten-minute integration time with 35% uncertainty. The abundance of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) HONO measurements during ANTCI (Antarctic troposphere chemistry investigation) 2003 exceeds the pure gas phase model predictions by a factor of 1.92±0.67, which implies snow emission of HONO. A 1D air-snowpack model of HONO was developed and constrained by observed chemistry and meteology data. The 1D model includes pure gas phase chemical mechanisms, molecular diffusion and mechanical dispersion, windpumping in snow, gas phase to quasi-liquid layer phase HONO transfer and quasi-liquid layer nitrate photolysis. Based on the air-snowpack model, snow emission of HONO is highly likely and will be transported to place of the measurements. The pH, thickness of quasi liquid layer and contineous nitrite measurement are key factors to calibrate and validate the air snowpack model.

Le radical OH est le principal oxydant de l'atmosphère diurne. Celui-ci est donc au cœur d'une chimie complexe mettant en jeu d'autres espèces radicalaires formant ainsi un cycle appelé cycle radicalaire. Il est ainsi responsable de la transformation de la majorité des composés émis ou formés dans l'atmosphère et donc de la formation de polluants secondaires, tels que l'ozone ou les aérosols organiques secondaires, pouvant avoir des effets très néfastes pour la santé humaines ou des effets non négligeables sur le climat. Une des principales sources conduisant à l'initiation de ce cycle est la photolyse de l'acide nitreux. Or, la nature et l'intensité des sources de l'acide nitreux sont encore sujettes à débat. L'objectif de ma thèse était donc d'étudier cette chimie radicalaire ainsi que la chimie de l'acide nitreux dans divers environnements afin d'améliorer la compréhension des processus d'oxydation sévissant dans l'atmosphère. Pour répondre à ces objectifs, ce travail de thèse s'est appuyé sur les résultats collectés lors de campagnes de terrains menées dans des environnements différents et à des saisons variées : les campagnes MEGAPOLI été et hiver qui se sont déroulées dans un environnement suburbain de la banlieue de Paris à l'été 2009 et à l'hiver 2010 et enfin la campagne CalNEX qui s'est déroulée dans un environnement pollué de la banlieue de Los Angeles durant le printemps 2010.En s'appuyant sur les résultats de ces campagnes, une méthodologie consistant en l'utilisation de calcul simple type hypothèse de l'état quasi-stationnaire ou plus complexe type modélisation 0D incluant un schéma chimique détaillé (le MCM) et contraint avec l'ensemble des mesures, a été développée et comparée avec les mesures de concentrations de radicaux afin de tester l'état de nos connaissances. Le modèle 0D a également permis d'étudier le bilan radicalaire dans ces trois environnements. Enfin, une comparaison des concentrations d'HONO mesurées et calculées pour les trois environnements a été menée, conduisant à l'identification d'une source additionnelle probablement de même nature dans les trois environnements étudiés / OH is the main oxidant of the troposphere during daytime hours. It is, thus, a key species for the complex atmospheric chemistry which involves other radical species and therefore leading to a radical cycle. This cycle is responsible for the transformation of the majority of the compounds emitted or formed in the atmosphere and thus of the formation of secondary pollutants, such as ozone and secondary organic aerosols which can have harmful effect on human health or important effects on climate. One of the main radical sources in the troposphere is the photolysis of nitrous acid. However, the intensity and the nature of the whole sources of HONO are still unknown.The aim of my thesis was, therefore, to study radical chemistry and nitrous acid chemistry in different environments in order to improve our understanding of oxidation processes occurring in the atmosphere. To answer to these objectives, this work was based on results obtained during field campaigns which took place in different environments and at different periods of year: the MEGAPOLI summer and winter campaign which took place in a suburban environments of Paris suburbs during the summer 2009 and the winter 2010 and finally the CalNEX campaign which took place in a polluted environment of the suburbs of Los Angeles during the spring 2010.Dealing with the results of these campaigns, a methodology consisting in the use of simple calculation such as the photostationnary state hypothesis or more complex approach such as a 0D box model containing a detailed chemical mechanism (the MCM) and being constrained with all the measurements, has been developed and compared with the measured radical concentrations in order to test our knowledge. The 0D box model, also, allowed studying the radical budget in these three environments. Finally, a comparison between the measured and calculated HONO concentrations for the three environments has been conducted. This comparison leads to the identification of an additional HONO source, which is probably of the same nature in the three environments

Submitted by Marco Antonio Oliveira da Silva (maosilva@ipen.br) on 2017-10-27T12:46:47Z No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2017-10-27T12:46:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Leishmaniose é uma zoonose desenvolvida por protozoários do gênero Leishmania. A doença se manifesta sob a forma visceral e cutânea cujo tratamento apresenta diversas limitações como alto custo, elevada toxicidade dos fármacos e altos índices de recidiva. A leishmaniose cutânea abrange lesões destrutivas e ulceradas que podem evoluir para condições mais graves culminando em óbito dos hospedeiros acometidos. Tratamentos alternativos tem sido implementados com a finalidade de proporcionar acessibilidade financeira e menores efeitos colaterais aos pacientes. A terapia fotodinâmica se insere nesse contexto devido à praticidade, custo reduzido, mínima toxicidade e sem relatos de resistência descritos na literatura. O objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar os efeitos da terapia fotodinâmica em leishmaniose cutânea induzida em camundongos BALB/c infectados com leishmaniose cutânea. A otimização da PDT também foi avaliada pela administração de doadores de óxido nítrico (S-nitroso-MSA) encapsulados em nanopartículas de quitosana (CSNPs), já que esse composto é altamente reativo e potencialmente tóxico para o parasito. Camundongos BALB/c foram infectados no membro posterior esquerdo com 1.106 promastigotas de Leishmania (L) amazonensis que expressam o gene da luciferase e acompanhados por 4 semanas até o surgimento da lesão. Após esse período, os animais foram distribuídos em 6 grupos (n=4): Controle (não tratado), PDT1 (submetidos à uma sessão de PDT), PDT2 (duas sessões ), PDT1NPNO e PDT2NPNO (uma sessão e duas sessões de PDT em associação com S-nitroso-MSACPNPS, respectivamente), e NPNO (somente S-nitroso-MSA-CP NPS). A segunda sessão foi realizada 24 h após a primeira. A PDT foi efetuada usando um diodo emissor de luz (LED, λ=660 ± 22 nm) e azul de metileno (100 μM), com densidade de energia de 150 J/cm2. O progresso da doença foi avaliado por meio do tamanho da lesão e escala de dor utilizando um paquímetro e filamentos von Frey, respectivamente. A carga parasitária foi quantificada por intermédio do bioimageamento nas primeiras 96 h após o tratamento e nas 4 semanas seguintes. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram redução na carga parasitária durante o período experimental, com exceção do grupo PDT1NPNO. Houve redução parasitária significante em 72 h e 96 h para os grupos PDT2, PDT2NPNO e NPNO. A maior redução da lesão foi observada para o grupo PDT2 bem como menor sensibilidade ao estímulo doloroso. Nossos resultados indicam efeitos benéficos da PDT em duas sessões, sugerindo que pode ter ocorrido modulação do processo inflamatório. Entretanto, o uso das nanopartículas nas condições utilizadas nesse experimento não foi capaz de otimizar a eficiência da PDT nos animais infectados com Leishmania (L) amazonensis. / Dissertação (Mestrado em Tecnologia Nuclear) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Pour répondre aux aspects essentiels du développement durable, les nouvelles constructions doivent réduire leur consommation énergétique. Cela se traduit par une meilleure isolation des bâtiments mais aussi par une maitrise et un control du renouvellement de l'air par ventilation mécanique contrôlée. De telles actions participent à l’augmentation des concentrations de polluants en intérieur pouvant avoir des conséquences sanitaires importantes. La technique de dépollution passive de l’air reposant sur des processus photocatalytiques est une solution intéressante pour répondre à cette problématique. L’objectif de cette étude est d’optimiser une peinture pour application intérieure contenant des nanoparticules de dioxyde de titane (TiO2) afin de réduire les concentrations de polluants gazeux comme de dioxyde d’azote (NO2) tout en limitant la formation de contaminants tel que l’acide nitreux (HONO). Dans cette optique, durant cette thèse, différents jeux de peintures (photocatalytiques et de référence) ont été étudiés dans des conditions simulées de laboratoire et dans un environnement réel. Les expériences en laboratoire ont montré une efficacité d’élimination du NO2 jusqu’à 4 fois plus importante sur une peinture photocatalytique que sur une peinture standard. Cette étude met également en évidence la formation hétérogène d’acide nitreux pendant la réaction photocatalysée du NO2. Les rendements de formation de HONO sont compris entre 4 et 20 % du NO2 consommé. Lors d’une étude à échelle 1, dans une pièce modèle, des concentrations significatives de HONO ont été mesurées. Ces observations mettent à jour des mécanismes encore non élucidés de formation de cette espèce en air / In order to improve building energy consumption, new constructions reduce air exchange rate by including better insulation and adding controlled ventilation. However, this energetic advantage participates in increasing the concentration of indoor pollutants and can be the cause of adverse effects on the occupants’ health. A possible solution to this issue is to use the photocatalysis principle/theory as an innovating technique for air remediation. The aim of this study is to optimize photocatalytic materials containing titanium dioxide (TiO2) in order to reduce the concentrations of indoor air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) without the generation of emerging contaminants such as nitrous acid HONO. Over the course of this Ph.D., effects of different photocatalytic paints, tested under simulated and real conditions were studied. Laboratory experiments showed an effective elimination of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) up to 4 times higher with a photocatalytic paint than with a standard paint, the most important parameters influencing NO2 elimination being nanoTiO2 quantity built-in the paint, light intensity, and temperature. This study also highlights the heterogeneous formation of nitrous acid (HONO) during the photocatalysis of NO2, reactivity yields range from 4 % to 20 % of used NO2. During a scale one study in a model room, a significant concentration of HONO was measured. Those observations reveal yet not fully elucidated mechanisms for the indoor formation of this compound

Neptunium, with its rich redox chemistry, has a special position in the chemistry of actinides. With a decades-long history of development of aqueous separation methods for used nuclear fuel (UNF), management of neptunium remains an unresolved issue because of its not clearly defined redox speciation. Neptunium is present in two, pentavalent (V) and hexavalent (VI) oxidation states, both in their dioxocation O=Np=O neptunyl form, which differ greatly in their solvent extraction behavior. While the neptunium(VI) dioxocation is being very well extracted, the dioxocation of pentavalent neptunium is practically non-extractable by an organic solvent. As a result, neptunium is not well separated and remains distributed in both organic and aqueous extraction phases. The aim of this study was to develop or enhance the understanding of several key topics governing the redox behavior of neptunium in nitric acid medium, which are of vital importance for the engineering design of industrial-scale liquid-liquid separation systems. In this work, reactions of neptunium(V) and (VI) with vanadium(V) and acetohydroxamic acid - two redox agents envisioned for adjusting the neptunium oxidation state in aqueous separations ��� were studied in order to determine their kinetic characteristics, rate laws and rate constants, as a function of temperature and nitric acid concentration. Further were analyzed the interactions of neptunium(V) and (VI) with nitrous acid, which is formed as a product of radiolytic degradation of nitric acid caused by high levels of radioactivity present in such systems. Once HNO��� is distributed between both the aqueous solutions and organic solvent, nitrous acid is also formed in both phases and has a key influence on redox speciation of neptunium; therefore, the effects of gamma-radiation on the redox speciation of neptunium were investigated. The work also includes the results of examination of scavenging of nitrous acid by hydrogen peroxide, which is generated along with nitrous acid during radiolysis of aqueous solutions of nitric acid, and also by chemical reactions with added scavenging agents (methylurea, acetohydroxamic acid). / Graduation date: 2013

Du fait de l’omniprésence de l’homme au sein du compartiment intérieur, y passant jusqu’à 90% de son temps au cours d’une journée, il est devenu essentiel de caractérisé correctement l’atmosphère et donc les polluants présent dans ce milieu. Ce travail de thèse prend la suite d’une étude menée au sein de notre laboratoire montrant une importante présence de radicaux hydroxyles dans cette atmosphère. Le polluant précurseur des radicaux supposé au cours de cette étude est l’acide nitreux (HONO), présent dans des quantités de l’ordre du ppb pour l’intérieur. Ce travail de thèse a donc eu pour but, dans un premier temps de caractériser la photolyse de l’acide nitreux conduisant à la formation de radicaux hydroxyles, et dans un second temps d’établir ses différentes voies de formation, directes et indirectes, afin de quantifier ses sources dans les atmosphères intérieures. / People in Western societies spend about 90% of their time indoors, predominantly within indoor places. The residence time of the airborne indoor pollutants is much longer due to the smaller volumes compared to the outdoor atmosphere and low air exchange rates. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of indoor air quality is essential.Nitrous acid (HONO) is an emerging indoor pollutant because 1) it can lead to human respiratory tract irritation and formation of carcinogenic nitrosamines, and 2) it can be effectively photolyzed leading to a pulse of hydroxyl radicals (OH).The PhD work here presented is focused on understanding of the formation processes of oxidizing species such as HONO and, hence, OH radicals in the built environment.

L’atmosphère est un milieu complexe, loin d’être parfaitement homogène. Elle contient de nombreuses particules, sous formes solides ou liquides, dénommées aérosols. Ces particules peuvent affecter l’équilibre radiatif de la planète, la qualité de l’air dans les milieux urbains et changer la composition chimique de l’atmosphère malgré leur présence à des très faibles teneurs. Par ailleurs, au niveau du sol, la phase gazeuse atmosphérique peut interagir avec la végétation et le bâtiment, tout particulièrement en zone urbaine. Ce travail se situe donc dans le cadre général de l’étude des réactions photoinduites à l’interface air/solide afin de pouvoir comprendre et décrire leur rôle dans la pollution atmosphérique (principalement urbaine). Cette étude a comme objectif principal l’étude de l’influence du rayonnement solaire sur les cinétiques hétérogènes des réactions impliquant le dioxyde d’azote et des surfaces organiques (pyrene, fluoranthene, phénanthrène) pures et des surfaces organiques/inorganiques (pyrene/KNO3, pyrene/Fe2O3, pyrene/KNO3/Fe2O3) simulant le dépôt urbain. De telles réactions n’ont pas encore été étudiées. Ces travaux ont été menés expérimentalement à l’aide de réacteurs de type « tube à écoulement » couplé à un détecteur spécifique du gaz en trace étudié. Après avoir mis en évidence une capture photoinduite sur ces surfaces, nous avons montré que la capture de NO2 dépend de plusieurs paramètres tels que la concentration de NO2, l’humidité relative, le flux photonique avec l’identification des produits de réactions, en l’occurrence l’acide nitreux HNO2, le monoxyde d’azote, les ions nitrites et le 1‐nitropyrene. L’acide nitreux détecté est un élément favorisant les pics de pollution photochimique à l’ozone. Ainsi ce travail est une avancée importante dans ce champ de recherche. / The atmosphere contains a wide variety of solid and liquid particles, named Aerosol. These particles can affect the radiatif balance, air quality in urban environment and can change the composition of the atmosphere. The atmospheric gas phase can react with the vegetation and the buildings containing the urban grime. This work is focused on the investigations of the heterogeneous chemistry between atmospheric gas phase and the urban grime. The aim of the present work is to study the effect of the irradiation on the heterogeneous kinetic of NO2 on pur organic films (pyrene, fluoranthene, phenanthrene) and on organic/inorganic films (pyrene/KNO3, pyrene/Fe2O3, pyrene/KNO3/Fe2O3) as a first attempt to simulate the complexity of the urban grime. A coated flow tube reactor coupled with a NOx analyzer is used to study this kinetic. This work demonstrates the effect of solar radiation on the heterogeneous reaction between gasphase NO2 and the urban grime. The uptake coefficient calculated is a function of the initial NO2 concentration, the relative humidity and the irradiation intensity. We identified after this reaction the formation of nitrous acid and nitric oxide, nitrite ions and 1‐nitropyrene.The nitrous acid is an important compound which dissociates to form the hydroxyl radical and can promote the ozone formation. The results discussed herein suggest that PAHcontaining urban grime on windows and buildings may be a key player in urban air pollution.

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