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U.S. Department of Energy
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Phase I Technical Report for the Engineering of Monosodium Titanate

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/835583· OSTI ID:835583
Monosodium titanate (MST) is an inorganic adsorbent that effectively removes strontium, plutonium, uranium, and other trace elements from alkaline salt supernate. Current plans use the MST in batch contact processes to treat Savannah River Site (SRS) waste solutions that require 90Sr and actinide removal to meet low level disposal criteria. More effective use of MST may be realized if the MST could be engineered into a form suitable for a continuous treatment process such as an adsorption column. The main benefits of column operation are (1) enhanced loading due to equilibration with feed adsorbate levels versus product levels, and (2) a small footprint relative to that of a batch contact tank. The current baseline MST material features particles of nominally 0.5-35 micron in size, which are much too fine for use in an adsorption column. An extensive review of the literature and consultation with technical experts identified candidate methods to produce engineered forms of MST. From this list a review team selected five candidate methods for further study. Laboratory syntheses at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) and offsite produced representative samples for characterization and performance testing. Testing identified two suitable methods. The two methods include internal gelation, which is patented technology of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and internal hydrolysis, a method in which the MST is produced within a porous substrate. A commercial sodium titanate, SrTreat(R), produced by Fortum Engineering (Finland), demonstrated good performance as well although plutonium removal kinetics appeared much slower than observed for the other engineered MST materials.
Research Organization:
Savannah River Site (US)
Sponsoring Organization:
US Department of Energy (US)
DOE Contract Number:
AC09-96SR18500
OSTI ID:
835583
Report Number(s):
WSRC-TR-2004-00286
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English