Removal of actinides from radioactive wastewaters by chemically modified peat

Journal Article · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1984 · Solvent Extr. Ion Exch.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5769361

Smith, C M; Navratil, J D; MacCarthy, P

Peat possesses a native cation exchange capacity and can thus bind to cations in the natural environment. Efforts to capitalize on this property of peat have been hampered by two major drawbacks: raw peat (1) is virtually impermeable to water, thereby precluding its use in a column mode; and (2) leaches severely and dissolves/suspends in water at pH >6. These disadvantages are minimized significantly by treating peat with concentrated sulfuric acid, resulting in a particulate material which is permeable to water and resistant to leaching. This product possesses an enhanced cation exchange capacity compared to the untreated peat, and is effective in removing a wide variety of cations from water. This paper discusses the effectiveness of modified peat in removing plutonium and americium from process wastewaters and compares the efficiency of this approach to more conventional methods for decontaminating radioactive wastewaters. The ability to elute bond plutonium and americium from the various adsorbents was also investigated in these experiments. 17 references, 12 figures, 4 tables.

• Research Organization: Rockwell International Corp., Rocky Flats Plant, Golden, CO; Colorado School of Mines, Golden
• OSTI ID: 5769361
• Journal Information: Solvent Extr. Ion Exch.; (United States), Journal Name: Solvent Extr. Ion Exch.; (United States) Vol. 2:7-8; ISSN SEIED
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052001 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Processing
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400105* -- Separation Procedures
ACTINIDES
AMERICIUM
BUFFERS
CARBON
CATIONS
CHARGED PARTICLES
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
DATA
ELEMENTS
ELUTRIATION
ENERGY SOURCES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
EXPERIMENTAL REACTORS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
INORGANIC ACIDS
INORGANIC ION EXCHANGERS
ION EXCHANGE
ION EXCHANGE MATERIALS
IONS
LIQUID WASTES
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MATERIALS
METALS
MINERALS
NONMETALS
NSF-RFP REACTOR
NUMERICAL DATA
ORGANIC MATTER
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PEAT
PH VALUE
PLUTONIUM
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOMETRIC ANALYSIS
REACTORS
RESEARCH AND TEST REACTORS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SULFURIC ACID
TRANSPLUTONIUM ELEMENTS
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
WASTE WATER
WASTES
WATER
ZEOLITES
ZERO POWER REACTORS