Cesium Removal Performance of Resorcinol-Formaldehyde Resin
- Chemical Science and Technology, Savannah River National Laboratory, Savannah River Site, Building 773-42A, room 182, Aiken, SC 29808 (United States)
- Engineering, Modeling and Simulation, Savannah River National Laboratory, Savannah River Site, Building 773-42A, room 182, Aiken, SC 29808 (United States)
- Hanford Waste Treatment Plant, Richland, WA 99352 (United States)
Full text of publication follows: The Department of Energy's Hanford River Protection Project is an effort to design and construct a Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) for processing and stabilization of nuclear waste from past operations at Hanford, WA. As part of that effort the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has been contracted to test technology for unit operations including the use of ion exchange to remove cesium ion from highly alkaline aqueous feed. Resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) cationic exchange resin is highly selective for cesium under alkaline conditions. The work presented here examined the isotherm, capacity, kinetics, and column performance of a spherical form of RF. The spherical or bead form of the resin has been found to be hydraulically better than the traditional ground gel form of RF in past work, and the different method of manufacture necessitated the study of the resulting different chemical performance. The resin isotherm was found to depend primarily on sodium, potassium, and free hydroxide levels along with temperature. In addition the resin was found to have a high content (6 {+-} 0.8 meq/gram hydrogen form) of non-selective cationic sites along with roughly 0.8 meq/gram of sites that select cesium under WTP feed compositions. Standard batch contact methods were used to obtain data for isotherm modeling. Loaded resin samples were also analyzed to determine capacity and also affinities for other elements in the feeds. Chromium, iron, lead, and cadmium were found to be adsorbed by the resin while many other metals in the feed are not selected. Kinetics testing was performed to assist in modeling resin performance under dynamic conditions. Kinetics data are included in the modeling of column performance. Small columns were run to breakthrough to provide data for benchmarking. The presentation will include comparisons of isotherm models with batch data. SRNL uses a combination of Pitzer solution chemical activity modeling and an algebraic model to provide a cesium isotherm. This work shows that RF resin is a viable choice for the cesium removal process at WTP. The extensive chemical characterizations of the resin provide a good basis for predictions of process performance under a wide range of Hanford feed compositions. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers - AIChE, 3 Park Avenue New York, NY 10016-5991 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21229339
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: AIChE 2007 Spring National Meeting, Houston, TX (United States), 22-27 Apr 2007; Other Information: Country of input: France
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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