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Title: Zero Valent Iron for Reductive Removal of Technetium-99 from Aqueous Sulfate Solutions - 20347

Conference ·
OSTI ID:23027997
;  [1]; ; ;  [2]
  1. Applied Research Center, Florida International University, 10555 W. Flagler Street, Miami, Florida 33174 (United States)
  2. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Boulevard, Richland, Washington 99354 (United States)

This research investigates the reductive removal of technetium-99 ({sup 99}Tc) by zero valent iron (ZVI) from low activity waste (LAW) off-gas condensate simulant as a secondary treatment after recovery from vitrification planned at the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). Due to its high volatility, only a fraction of Tc{sup (VII)} will be incorporated into glass waste forms. Volatilized Tc will be captured by an off-gas treatment system with current plans to recycle off-gas condensate back to the vitrification facility. The scheme with off-gas recycling will increase Tc loading in the glass waste, but will also increase the concentrations of sulfate, halides, and other problematic constituents impeding overall LAW processing and increasing volume of the glass product. This study focuses on Tc{sup (VII)} removal by ZVI as a feasible pathway to minimize off-gas condensate recycling, which may result in a reduction in the volumes of LAW waste to be immobilized and subsequent cost savings. ZVI is an established treatment agent for redox-active contaminants such as trichloroethylene, nitrate, arsenic, chromium, phenol, and others. It is a commercially available and cost-effective material. Our previous experiments showed that ZVI is very efficient for the reductive removal of {sup 99}Tc. In this work we studied ZVI oxidation under aerobic conditions at pH 7 with 0.1 M Na{sub 2}SO{sub 4} solution (ionic strength, IS, 0.3 M) in the presence and absence of {sup 99}Tc. The concentration of {sup 99}Tc and the changes in pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) of the simulated solutions were monitored over 8 days. The formation of iron oxide phases was probed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Obtained results suggest that ZVI contact time with {sup 99}Tc containing solutions for 6 hours resulted in nearly complete removal of {sup 99}Tc from the aqueous phase. XRD analysis showed that the oxidation of ZVI is rapid with formation of magnetite (Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}) with minor percentage of goethite and maghemite. This work is a part of a larger set of studies investigating the feasibility of {sup 99}Tc reductive removal from the LAW off-gas condensate. (authors)

Research Organization:
WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 27646, 85285-7646 Tempe, AZ (United States)
OSTI ID:
23027997
Report Number(s):
INIS-US-21-WM-20347; TRN: US21V1825068349
Resource Relation:
Conference: WM2020: 46. Annual Waste Management Conference, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 8-12 Mar 2020; Other Information: Country of input: France; 18 refs.; available online at: https://www.xcdsystem.com/wmsym/2020/index.html
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English