Removal of plutonium and uranium from process streams using ultrafiltration membranes

Conference · Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1977

OSTI ID:7301100

Roberts, R. C.; Koenst, J. W.

A series of experiments using hollow fiber ultrafiltration modules was run on various Mound Laboratory waste streams contaminated with /sup 238/Pu, /sup 239/Pu, and /sup 233/U. These modules had various molecular weight cut-offs ranging from 2000 to 80,000. The types of waste solution studied consisted of waste water from the ''hot'' laundry, decontamination water from the Plutonium Processing (PP) Building, and influent to the Waste Disposal (WD) Building. These experiments have shown that the ability to remove radioactivity is a function of the contents of the waste stream. This is due to the fact that the radioactivity in the waste water is in various forms (ionic, polymeric, colloidal, and adsorbed onto suspended solids). Removal of suspended or colloidal material was very high, while removal of ionic material was very low. The best case proved to be the laundry waste water which yielded a rejection of radioactivity up to 99.8%, with a product concentration of <0.1 dis/min/ml. The worst case was decontamination water which yielded a rejection of radioactivity of 85 to 88% with a product concentration of 166 to 229 dis/min/ml (initial feed was 1440 dis/min/ml). Typical WD influent showed a rejection of radioactivity of 90 to 98% and a product concentration of from 7 to 100 dis/min/ml, depending upon initial concentration and the nature of the waste stream.

• Research Organization: Mound Lab., Miamisburg, OH (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: EY-76-C-04-0053
• OSTI ID: 7301100
• Report Number(s): MLM-2423(OP); CONF-770512-3; TRN: 77-011727
• Resource Relation: Conference: Symposium on management of low level radioactive waste, Atlanta, GA, USA, 23 May 1977
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
PLUTONIUM 238
ULTRAFILTRATION
PLUTONIUM 239
RADIOACTIVE WASTE PROCESSING
URANIUM 233
EFFICIENCY
LIQUID WASTES
REMOVAL
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
MANAGEMENT
NUCLEI
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
PROCESSING
RADIOISOTOPES
SEPARATION PROCESSES
URANIUM ISOTOPES
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
052001* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Processing