Decontamination of a benzene waste stream containing Cs-137 and diphenylmercury. [Diphenylmercury]

Conference · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:6081704

Bibler, J P ^[1]; Deininger, J P ^[2]

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1. Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (USA)
2. Analytical Development Corp., Colorado Springs, CO (USA)

A secondary waste stream from the Defense Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site will contain benzene and entrained higher boiling organic derivatives of benzene, Cs-137, and diphenylmercury. This stream constitutes a mixed waste that will have to be decontaminated before disposal. Removal of both diphenylmercury and Cs-137 represents the optimum decontamination of the mixture. Decontamination studies have been conducted on this organic product waste stream to remove both Cs-137 and diphenylmercury. Cesium can be effectively removed by conventional ion exchange techniques using zeolite as the ion exchange medium. It can also be extracted from the benzene phase by washing with water or dilute caustic solution. Diphenylmercury is much more difficult to separate from the benzene. Treatment of the benzene waste with Tru Clear{trademark}, a stabilized ferrate (FeO{sub 4}{sup 2{minus}}) system in dilute KOH, allowed extraction of nearly all of the cesium ion and 1--2% of dissolved mercury into an aqueous phase where they can be more easily managed. 3 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs.

• Research Organization: Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC09-89SR18035
• OSTI ID: 6081704
• Report Number(s): WSRC-MS-90-266; CONF-910270--30; ON: DE91009338
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400105 -- Separation Procedures
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
AROMATICS
BENZENE
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CESIUM 137
CESIUM ISOTOPES
CHEMICAL WASTES
CLEANING
DECONTAMINATION
ENTRAINMENT
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROXIDES
INORGANIC ION EXCHANGERS
ION EXCHANGE MATERIALS
ISOTOPES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MERCURY COMPOUNDS
MINERALS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC MERCURY COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC WASTES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POTASSIUM COMPOUNDS
POTASSIUM HYDROXIDES
PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES
REMOVAL
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
SEPARATION PROCESSES
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
ZEOLITES