Custom Engineered Solutions for Nuclear Industry

Gloveboxes are widely used across the Nuclear industry to keep hazardous processes and materials out of contact with operators and the public at large. They are often maintained at a slight, internal negative pressure, requiring fans to create vacuum, venting to the outside world.

Porvair Filtration Group offers high strength, robust equipment to ensure that such penetrations are protected from leakage of the contents of the glovebox. We can also custom design optimised solutions for other process penetrations leading in or out of gloveboxes for both gas and liquid feeds.

In addition, the enclosed space inside a glovebox often needs ‘housekeeping' to prevent the build-up of contaminating or obscuring solids. Porvair Filtration Group are able to offer specially designed vacuum cleaners, which work inside the glovebox, to recirculate the internal atmosphere, securely and reliably collecting errant solids. We can also provide Pulsed Jet self-cleaning vacuum cleaners which not only keep the glovebox interior clean, but deliver the collected solids back to the user for disposal in the event that high levels of solids need to be removed from the working space.

Using a range of metallic filter media in a variety of metal types, Porvair has developed the expertise to supply waste package breathers that are precisely tailored to the individual needs of any application. Available with defined separation efficiencies, defined gas diffusion and defined flow/ΔP characteristics. Specially designed vent breathers, supplied to nuclear storage users in Europe, the UK and the USA, include:

• HEPA (THE) grade shielded vent breathers for spent fuel drying and storage
• WIPP compliant TrU waste package vent breathers
• 500 litre drum breathers
• 3m^3 box breathers.

In addition, we are working with the Nuclear industry to improve the efficiency, safety and cleanliness of cementation, vitrification and disposal technologies including:

• Drum filling, cement dust collection pulsed jet system
• Vitrification plant, high temperature, pour and drain vent filters
• Bulk vitrification pre-treatment evaporator filter systems.

Porvair Filtration Group also supply custom designed high permeability crossflow systems with low throughput to pump power consumption ratios, offering a more space and cost effective solution to conventional low permeability systems.

The high-permeability of our systems allows much lower re-circulation ratios compared with alternative sintered powder, ceramic and carbon systems.

Our crossflow filter systems, used within nuclear fuel protection plants, are an integral part of the coolant circulation loop of the final polishing of uranium-based fuel pellets. Collecting the dust particles created during the grinding process, the crossflow filter system produces clean water which is fed back into the system as clean coolant.

At Porvair Filtration Group we not only offer solutions to meet the most arduous gas process and venting applications, we also provide a variety of liquid filtration solutions ranging from dewatering (including vent pulsejet self-cleaning vapour filters for evaporators) to the polishing of power station effluent prior to discharge, as well as primary coolant and fuel pool filtration for water cooled reactors.

Our self-cleaning back flushable filters can be used for a wide range of applications within the Nuclear industry.

Benefits include on-line cleaning and enhanced filter life, cutting down maintenance and consumable costs for the end-user.