Preliminary data on processing and characterization of recycled irradiated graphite

Neutron irradiated graphite was recycled as the “filler” material in reconstituted graphite. The work, performed in a radiological facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is believed to be the first ever demonstration of the feasibility of recycling irradiated graphite. The recycled graphite was lower in selected properties than commercially available nuclear graphite, but it is believed that similar property values could have been achieved with an impregnation step and a refined particle size distribution. The irradiation temperature and fluence of the graphites that were recycled had no discernable impact on the properties of the graphites made from them.