Modeling Ion-Exchange Processing With Spherical Resins For Cesium Removal

Journal Article · Wed Sep 19 04:00:00 EDT 2012 · Separation Science and Technology

OSTI ID:1096411

Hang, T.; Nash, C. A.; Aleman, S. E.

The spherical Resorcinol-Formaldehyde and hypothetical spherical SuperLig(r) 644 ion-exchange resins are evaluated for cesium removal from radioactive waste solutions. Modeling results show that spherical SuperLig(r) 644 reduces column cycling by 50% for high-potassium solutions. Spherical Resorcinol Formaldehyde performs equally well for the lowest-potassium wastes. Less cycling reduces nitric acid usage during resin elution and sodium addition during resin regeneration, therefore, significantly decreasing life-cycle operational costs. A model assessment of the mechanism behind ''cesium bleed'' is also conducted. When a resin bed is eluted, a relatively small amount of cesium remains within resin particles. Cesium can bleed into otherwise decontaminated product in the next loading cycle. The bleed mechanism is shown to be fully isotherm-controlled vs. mass transfer controlled. Knowledge of residual post-elution cesium level and resin isotherm can be utilized to predict rate of cesium bleed in a mostly non-loaded column. Overall, this work demonstrates the versatility of the ion-exchange modeling to study the effects of resin characteristics on processing cycles, rates, and cold chemical consumption. This evaluation justifies further development of a spherical form of the SL644 resin.

• Research Organization: Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC09-08SR22470
• OSTI ID: 1096411
• Report Number(s): SRNL-STI--2012-00575
• Journal Information: Separation Science and Technology, Journal Name: Separation Science and Technology
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
Ion-exchange
cesium removal
process modeling
radioactive waste
spherical resins