Biodegradation of ion-exchange media

Technical Report · Mon Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1988

OSTI ID:6801454

Bowerman, B S; Clinton, J H; Cowdery, S R

Ion-exchange media, both bead resins and powdered filter media, are used in nuclear power plants to remove radioactivity from process water prior to reuse or environmental discharge. Since the ion- exchange media are made from synthetic hydrocarbon-based polymers, they may be susceptible to damage from biological activity. The purpose of this study was to investigate some of the more basic aspects of biodegradation of ion-exchange media, specifically to evaluate the ability of microorganisms to utilize the ion-exchange media or materials sorbed on them as a food source. The ASTM-G22 test, alone and combined with the Bartha Pramer respirometric method, failed to indicate the biodegradability of the ion-exchange media. The limitation of these methods was that they used a single test organism. In later phases of this study, a mixed microbial culture was grown from resin waste samples obtained from the BNL High Flux Beam Reactor. These microorganisms were used to evaluate the susceptibility of different types of ion-exchange media to biological attack. Qualitative assessments of biodegradability were based on visual observations of culture growths. Greater susceptibility was associated with increased turbidity in solution indicative of bacterial growth, and more luxuriant fungal mycelial growth in solution or directly on the ion-exchange resin beads. 21 refs., 9 figs., 18 tabs.

• Research Organization: Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (USA). Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research; Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76CH00016
• OSTI ID: 6801454
• Report Number(s): NUREG/CR-5221; BNL-NUREG-52163; ON: TI89005218
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052001* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Processing
053000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Environmental Aspects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
550700 -- Microbiology
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
BACTERIA
BIODEGRADATION
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CULTURE MEDIA
DECOMPOSITION
EVALUATION
FORESTS
GROWTH
INOCULATION
ION EXCHANGE MATERIALS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MICROORGANISMS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
PETROCHEMICALS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
POLYMERS
PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE EFFLUENTS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RESINS
SOILS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES