The high temperature reaction between beryllia and water vapour

Water vapour reacts with beryllium oxide to form a volatile complex. This reaction was studied in the temperature range 1065° C to 1380° C. Steam or moist argon was passed through a static bed of sintered beryllium oxide and weight losses from the bed were measured thermo-gravimetrically. The measurements referred to equilibrium conditions where steam or moist argon became saturated with the volatile complex. Moles of BeO (nBeO) lost from the bed were measured as a function of nH2O, the moles of water passed. The ratio nBeOnH2O at constant temperature was independent of water vapour pressure for pressures between 57 mmHg and 760 mmHg. Weight losses of BeO were a function solely of temperature and water throughput, and can be described uniquely by the equation: log nBeO = 1.62–8.8 × 103T° K+log nH2O. This equation offers a simple method of estimating maximum annual losses of BeO in a reactor. Some typical estimates are listed.