Cesium Ion Exchange Loading Kinetics Testing with SRF Resin

Journal Article · Fri Nov 02 04:00:00 EDT 2012 · Separation Science and Technology, 47(14-15):2129-2135

OSTI ID:1078003

Russell, Renee L.; Rinehart, Donald E.; Brown, Garrett N.; Peterson, Reid A.

Ion exchange using the Spherical Resorcinol-Formaldehyde (SRF) resin has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of River Protection for use in the Pretreatment Facility of the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) and for potential application in an at-tank deployment for removing 137Cs. Recent proposed changes to the WTP ion exchange process baseline indicate that loading may include a broader range of sodium molarities (2 to 8 M) due to caustic leaching and higher temperatures (50°C) to alleviate post-filtration precipitation issues prior to reaching the ion exchange columns. Therefore, it is important to understand the behavior of SRF resin performance under the conditions expected with the new equipment and process changes. This research examined the impact of linear load velocity (4, 6, 8 cm/min), initial sodium concentration (2, 5, 8 M), initial sodium-to-cesium ratio (1.4E+05, 2.1E+05, 2.8E+05 mol/mol), initial sodium-to-hydroxide ratio (2.0, 3.0, 4.0 mol/mol), and resin degradation during extended solution flow using elevated temperature (45°, 50°, 55°, 60°, 65°, 75°C). Testing was performed using a~2mL column packed with SRF resin with feed flowing through it in an up-flow pattern. Samples were taken at set intervals and the data analyzed to help understand the impact of these conditions on the SRF resin performance. It was found that the loading kinetics were not significantly impacted by the sodium concentration over the range tested. However, the loading kinetics were impacted by the linear load velocity. These results indicated that at the test temperature, the adsorption of cesium is strongly dependent on mass transfer through the film and not significantly impacted by interparticle diffusion. Testing for extended times at elevated temperatures showed that the resin does degrade and loading capacity is reduced at and above 45°C. Above 60°C the resin appears to not load at all.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1078003
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-83579; 830403000
• Journal Information: Separation Science and Technology, 47(14-15):2129-2135, Journal Name: Separation Science and Technology, 47(14-15):2129-2135
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

Ion exchange
Pretreatment Facility
spherical resorcinol-formaldehyde resin