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The measurement and characterization of tritium, for its monitoring in processes or its accounting in radioactive wastes, can be addressed with nonintrusive and nondestructive methods such as the s...

For more than 40 years, large volume calorimeters developed by SETARAM Instrumentation, have been used for nuclear applications including the assay of tritium and plutonium. They have been installed in major nuclear centers all around the world.The calorimeters are used for inventory of nuclear material, or for research. In 2011 a project was launched to develop a calorimeter for the management of waste in large volume drums. A new calorimeter has been developed by Setaram Instrumentation and the CEA Valduc in France.This new calorimeter is designed for drums having a volume bigger than 100L. It guarantees high operator safety by optimizing drum handling and air circulation for cooling, and optimized software for direct measurement of the quantity of nuclear material. The system is designed to provide precise measurements independent of environmental conditions.

Calorimetry combined with thermal analysis is an essential tool for the evaluation of thermal risks linked with chemical reactions at industrial scale. The energies of synthesis reactions or decomposition reactions as well as the heat capacities of reaction masses can be measured using such techniques. The capacity of the SETARAM differential reaction calorimeter (DRC) to determine essential safety data has been demonstrated with the measurement of heat capacities of cyclohexane and propanoic acid. Results of an industrial reaction are also presented.

Calorimetry is one of the best solutions to estimate the overall quantity of nuclear material on a wide range of masses, from a few milligrams up to kilograms of radionuclides, by measuring the overall thermal power due to the radioactive decay coming from the waste contained in a metallic drum or a different type of container. It has many advantages as it features a non-destructive method which remains independent of matrix effect or the chemical composition. Until now, calorimetry allows to measure at the lowest 0.5 to 1 mW for samples up to 385 liters. But nowadays, thanks to new technological breakthroughs, KEP-Technologies calorimeters are able to measure as low as 50 μW for 40 liters samples. The μLVC is based on a new design with twin cells, a new temperature regulation loop and a heat-flow measurement system inside a vacuum chamber (Patent deposit P005299 LA/VL). The μLVC is a differential heat-flow calorimeter for precise measurement independent of the residual fluctuations caused by environmental changes. The new calorimeter is an industrial product able to work in environmental conditions with wide temperature variations. The first results have shown a great improvement in the detection of very low thermal effect thanks to the thermal noise reduction. The paper presents the developments in Large Volume Calorimetry as a new tool for quantification of nuclear material to characterize Pu-Am samples, i-graphite, and low tritium samples with high precision and reliability.

Calorimetry, in combination with thermal analysis, is an essential tool for a data-based assessment of thermal risks linked with the performance of chemical reactions at industrial scale. The energies of synthesis reactions or of decomposition reaction as well as the heat capacities of reaction masses can be measured by these techniques. The performance of the differential reaction calorimeter (DRC) from SETARAM in the determination of essential safety data was demonstrated using two example reactions. The differential reaction calorimeter was found to be a powerful screening tool in an organic synthesis laboratory or in a development laboratory, and it is especially well suited for a fast and low-cost determination of the thermal parameters of chemical reactions, even when only a few raw materials are available.

Excess enthalpies for (water + monoethylethanolamine), (water + diethylethanolamine), and (water + n-propylethanolamine) have been measured at T = 298.15 K and for (water + 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol) at 308.15 K. Results of these measurements show some structure dependence on the excess molar enthalpies of these aqueous binary mixtures and also on the partial excess enthalpies of alkanolamines at infinite dilution in water.