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Global Outlook on the Availability of Critical Metals and Recycling Prospects from Rechargeable Batteries
Published in Abhilash, Ata Akcil, Critical and Rare Earth Elements, 2019
Pratima Meshram, B.D. Pandey, Abhilash
Cobalt is the 33rd most abundant element and is primarily used in rechargeable batteries as a cathode (as LiCoO2) in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Cobalt also finds use in carbide and diamond tools, corrosion- and wear-resistant high-strength alloys, high-speed steels, catalysts for petroleum and chemicals, biofuel production (Fischer–Tropsch process), carbon dioxide reduction, as well as in fuel cells, drying agents in chemistry, pigments, ground coats for porcelain enamels, permanent magnets (AlNiCo and SmCo alloys) and magnetic recording media, steel-belted radial tires, etc. Cobalt-60 is a commercially important radioisotope used as a radioactive tracer and for the production of high-intensity gamma rays. Moreover, cobalt, being a part of vitamin B12, is essential to maintain human health.
Radioactivity and radiation
Published in Alan Martin, Sam Harbison, Karen Beach, Peter Cole, An Introduction to Radiation Protection, 2018
Alan Martin, Sam Harbison, Karen Beach, Peter Cole
Thus, if the stable isotope cobalt-59 (Co-59) is bombarded or irradiated with neutrons, atoms of the radioactive isotope cobalt-60 (Co-60) are produced. These atoms will eventually undergo β decay and become atoms of the stable isotope nickel-60 (Ni-60). This process is written as C2759o(n,γ)Co2760→β−N2860i
Radioactive Materials and Radioactive Decay
Published in Robert E. Masterson, Nuclear Engineering Fundamentals, 2017
which are located in about one dozen countries. Most of the Cobalt-60 in use today comes from CANDU power reactors by irradiating Co-59 with neutrons in special rods. Production sites include the Bruce B, Pickering and the Gentilly nuclear facilities in Canada; Embalse in Argentina; Qinshan Phase III units 1 and 2 in China; Wolsong 1 and 2 in South Korea (all CANDU Designs); and Leningrad 1 in the Soviet Union (which is a Russian RBMK). These reactors will eventually be joined by the Clinton and the Hope Creek BWRs in the United States. Although other reactors will eventually be brought online, it is believed that the worldwide demand for these radioisotopes will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.
Gamma-ray irradiation induced dislocation loops in hexagonal zirconium
Published in Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 2023
Chengze Liu, Huan Li, Jianping Xu, Ge Wang, Xing Zhao, Bin Zhao, Jinping Wu
Structural materials used in spent nuclear fuel (SNF) reprocessing facilities and fission reactors are subjected to extreme environments encompassing high temperature, corrosive media, and radiative fields [1] [2]. The radiation source generally includes neutrons, ions, and gamma (γ) rays, and the γ-ray irradiation damage to materials was believed to be not significant [3] [4]. Zirconium (Zr) has been used as a reprocessing equipment in Japan and France [5], and recent research has proven that γ-ray irradiation can induce radiolytic hydrogen that results in increased hydride concentration at the surface of Zr [6], which could accelerate degradation of oxide films and induce stress corrosion cracking [7]. The concentration of H would greatly reduce the toughness of Zr alloys and impair the safety and accident tolerance of reprocessing equipment in earthquake or other severe conditions [8]. In addition, the irradiation-induced displacement damage would synergistically reduce the corrosion resistance of Zr due to their effects on optical, physico-chemical, and surface morphology properties of ZrO2 thin films [9–12]. However, the direct irradiation damage of γ-ray on zirconium still remains unknown. The structural material used for a typical SNF reprocessing plant will experience an accumulated γ-ray fluence of up to 1.0 × 108 Gy due to the β/γ-decay of short-lived fission products, such as 90Sr and [13]7Cs [14] [15]. Cobalt-60 (60Co) is one of the most widely used radioisotopes. It is well established that γ-rays of 1.173 and 1.332 MeV are emitted from 60Co with intensities of almost 100% following β− decay with the half-life of 5.26 years and that it is suitable for simulating the γ-ray irradiation environment seen by SNF [3,6,7].
Removal of barium (II), cobalt (II), and strontium (II) from aqueous solution using chemically modified poly (acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene) pellets
Published in Particulate Science and Technology, 2022
M. I. Aly, M. R. Hassan, M. M. Ghobashy, B. A. Masry
Whereas cobalt (60Co) release in the environment causes many health problems, due to its radiation toxicity its longer half-life (around 5 years), cobalt (60Co) has wide applications and uses, especially in nuclear medicine. In the nuclear application, its release comes from the existence of some impurities on the stainless steel used in the construction of nuclear reactors (Adeleye et al. 1994; Ebner et al. 2001; Nan et al. 2006; Hamed et al. 2014; Zhao et al. 2015).