Open AccessREMOVAL OF Cs{sup 137}, Sr{sup 90}, AND Ru{sup 106} FROM ORNL PLANT WASTES BY SORPTION ON VARIOUS MINERALS
Author(s) -
S.J. Rimshaw,
D C Winkley
Publication year - 1960
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/4140914
Subject(s) - chemistry , strontium , sorption , ruthenium , inorganic chemistry , nuclear chemistry , phosphate minerals , phosphate , adsorption , catalysis , biochemistry , organic chemistry
A series of minerals (120) were tested as to their efficiency in removing Cs/sup 137/, Sr/sup 90/, and Ru/sup 106/ from dilute alkaline wastes prior to ground disposal. Strontium-90 exchanged rapidly with calcium in Florida pebble phosphate. The best results were obtained with Tennessee phosphate heated to 600 deg C for one hour, but part of the increase in sorption of strontium was due to ion exchange. Heating Tennessee phosphate resulted in a material with excellent hydraulic properties that sorbed Cs/sup 137/ and Sr/sup 90/ from dilute alkaline solutions. Other calcium minerals such as calcite or dolomite were activated to adsorb Sr/sup 90/ by heating or by treating with caustic or phosphate solutions. Cesium-137 in dilute alkaline solutions exchanged preferentially with the potassium present in a number of mica schists and mica minerals which possess a layer lattice type of structure. The high selectivity for cesium of Tennessee phosphate heated to 600 deg C for one hour ts ascribed to the presence of bentonitic impurities present in this material. The kinetics and adsorption of Ru/sup 106/ are shown to be complex and slow due to tbe large number of chemical forms and complexes of ruthenium which can exist under varying conditions. Copper in conglomerate, various sulfide minerals containing copper, cuprite (cuprous oxide), and descloizite (basic zinc lead vanadate) removed 90% of the ruthenium under reducing conditions at a pH of 7 when heated at 60 deg C for 16 hours. At lower tempenatures (25 deg C) the removal of ruthenium from aged solutions took days or even weeks. (auth