Behaviors of impurities in liquid sodium. II. Effect of oxygen on behavior of hydrogen in liquid sodium.

Abstract

T h e behavior of hydrogen in liquid sodium containing relatively large amounts of oxygen were investigated with the aid of the hydrogen sensor of niobium membrane. T h e partial pressure of the hydrogen in liquid sodium a t hot zone of a cold-trapped natural circulation sodium loop w a s measured a s functions of temperatures of the cold t r a p and the hot zone of the loop. It was observed that a t constant cold trap temperature the partial pressure of hydrogen in sodium increases with increasing the hot zone temperature. T h i s study also showed that, keeping the temperature of hot zone constant, a logarithmic plot of hydrogen concentration calculated from the equilibrium hydrogen partial pressure us. t h e reciprocal temperature of cold trap yields a straight line whose slope is nearly equal to that on the solubility of sodium hydroxide in sodium. Finally, it was observed that the permeation of hydrogen in sodium through a niobium membrane i s a process controlled by diffusion. But the permeability for hydrogen in niobium is a few-hundredths smaller than that in literature, owing to the oxide film on the membrane surface.