Nanostructured BETA Detectors for the detection of Tritium (NANODOT)

Project Description

There are currently >100,000 m3 (>120,000 tones) of higher activity radioactive wastes in the UK, a volume that will only increase once nuclear new build comes on line. Whilst these wastes are ultimately intended for a geologic repository, they are currently held in interim storage on nuclear sites around the UK. The environmental strategy for geologic repository planning and construction is based on, amongst other things, an understanding of these wastes, their packaging and the geological environment in which the facility is to be constructed.

Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is produced from nuclear fission reactions and from the action of corrosion, radiolytic and microbial processes on radioactive wastes. It decays to He-3 by low energy beta decay of average kinetic energy 5.7 keV. This low energy makes it difficult to detect even by scintillation counting.

Fast, accurate and precise measurement of gaseous tritium is required for, inter alia:

• environmental monitoring & leak detection around interim storage sites for higher level radioactive wastes;
• development of the environmental safety case for the geologic repository for those same wastes;
• environmental and safety monitoring in and around nuclear reactor and nuclear fuel processing plant;
• and nuclear forensics, including applications in counter-terrorism, homeland security and non-proliferation.

Palladium is a metal that shows an almost unique capacity for absorbing H2 into its crystal matrix. There are a number of commercial H2 sensors on the market based on the interaction of H with palladium metal, most of which quantify this uptake by measurement of the metal capacitance or resistance. No one to date has explored the possibility of exploiting the unique Pd-H interaction as a means to selectively preconcentrate tritium from gas phase sample matrices in order to improve its detection using a Pd-modified scintillation detector.

We therefore propose to exploit new concepts in nanomaterials synthesis to allow us to couple nanoporous palladium layer-modified transducers/scintillation counters and digitized data capture from ionizing radiation events to develop a novel radiometric sensor-based measurement system for gaseous tritium detection. The use of nanoporous palladium will increase the surface area of metal available for tritium absorption whilst the use of digitised data capture will allow for whole data sets to be captured for posterity and post-processing. Both measures are expected to lead to improved signal to noise ratios assistive to the achieving of lower limits of detection and so greater accuracy and precision in measurement.

This project is a partnership between the Engineering Dept and the Lancaster Environment Centre (LEC) at Lancaster University and Hybrid Instruments, a Lancaster spin-out. The National Nuclear Laboratory (who have served as partners on predecessor projects to this), and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Radioactive Waste Management Directorate will be key end users. The project team have an extensive network of contacts in both bodies.

Entry requirements

Applicants should have a First or Upper Second Class UK honours degree, or equivalent, in a relevant discipline such chemistry (inc chemical engineering and / or the chemical sciences), materials science, analytical science or radiochemistry.

Funding Notes

Supported by the Natural Environment Research Council, this studentship is available to start from 1st October 2010. For UK applicants the studentship is fully funded for 3.5 years, covering fees and a maintenance grant (£13,290 in 2009/10) plus a CASE award of £1000 per year (all tax free). EU applicants are eligible for fees only. This studentship is not available to non-UK / non-EU applicants.

Interview Details

Deadline for applications: Tuesday 6th July 2010.

Interview date: Tuesday 20th July 2010.

For further information about this project, contact: Professor Colin Boxall, c.boxall@lancaster.ac.uk, Tel: +44 (0) 1524 593109 or +44 (0) 781 405 5964 or Dr Jackie Pates, j.pates@lancaster.ac.uk, Tel: +44 (0) 1524 593896.

Please include a CV with your enquiry.

Application Details

To apply for a PhD at Lancaster University please use the on-line application form.

You should address your background and suitability for this project in your personal statement.

For general information about postgraduate study at Lancaster University please click here.

For specific information on applying for PhD places in the Engineering Department, please contact

Gail Neville, Engineering Department
Email: g.neville@lancaster.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 1524 592275

Studying at Lancaster

The result of the 2008 research assessment exercise confirmed Lancaster’s position as one of the UK’s leading research-intensive universities. Institutionally, 92% of our research is at internationally recognised levels and every single subject submitted included 4*, defined as world leading, research. When adjusted for the 100% of staff submitted, Lancaster ranks 1st in the North West for research and 9th in the UK for research out of 159 higher education institutions. Additionally, Lancaster ranks 10th in the 2011 Times Good University Guide, 8th in the Independent’s Complete University Guide 2011 and 6th in the Guardian’s 2011 University Guide.

At departmental level, 95% of research in the both the Engineering Department and the Lancaster Environment Centre is at internationally recognised levels. In particular, 100% of the research outputs from Engineering have been judged to be internationally recognised, of which over one-sixth are 4*, world leading.

Lancaster offers an excellent environment for doctoral-level training - with a community of nearly 100 PGRSs across Engineering and LEC. Lancaster, through the Faculty of Science & Technology (SciTech) Graduate School, has a well established and generously funded programme of generic and subject specific training. A total of 69 courses are offered in generic / transferrable skills areas such as IT (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, LaTeX, Linux), presentation skills (oral presentations at conference & workshops, poster presentations, media training), career development skills (career planning, CV writing, interview technique & assessment centres, psychometric tests), numeracy skills (maths and quantitative analysis, statistics), writing (scientific writing, preparing a paper & thesis, non-academic writing, library databases, using endnote), personal development (managing your PhD) and the external environment (securing scientific funding). The successful candidate will also develop knowledge of the broader context of their research through conference attendance at both national level (including the Analytical Research Forum, RSC Local Meetings on Environmental Analytical Chemistry, the Universities Nuclear Technology Forum) and international level (Atalante 2012 and Actinides 2013).

Research in the Lancaster Environment Centre

Over the past three years, research funding to LEC has averaged £7 million per year, consistent with the vibrant research environment in the department. The department is divided into 5 themes, reflecting the diverse nature of our activities from fundamental research into environmental processes to human responses to environmental change, and 5 integrating Centres, which lead policy-oriented research. The themes and Centres are: Catchment & Aquatic Processes, Atmospheric Science, Environmental Geoscience, Biodiversity and Global Change, Society & Environment, the Centre for Chemicals Management, the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, the Centre for Environmental Informatics, the Centre for Sustainable Water Management and the Centre for Sustainable Energy. Supporting this research are world-class laboratory facilities, including well-equipped radiochemistry laboratories and stable isotope, organic and inorganic analytical facilities.