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The effect of uranium speciation on the removal of gross alpha activity from acid mine drainage using anion exchange resin

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Abstract

The study was conducted to understand, (a) the effect of pH on the speciation of uranium in acid mine drainage and (b) determine the effect of uranium speciation on the removal of gross alpha activity from acid mine drainage. Speciation modeling predicted a dominance of neutral and positively charged species under acidic and neutral conditions. Negative species become dominant from pH 8. The effectiveness of the anionic exchange resin to remove gross alpha activity was lower under acidic conditions (pH < 6) compared to alkaline conditions (pH ≥ 8).

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Acknowledgements

The financial assistance of the National Research Foundation (NRF) towards this research is hereby acknowledged by the corresponding author. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at, are those of the author and are not necessarily to be attributed to the NRF. The Eco-Analytica Laboratory of the North-West University, is also acknowledged for their assistance in the ICP-MS and anion analysis of samples. Purolite is also acknowledged for supplying the ion exchange resins used in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Applied Radiation Science and Technology, North-West University, Mafikeng, South Africa

    Thulani C. Dlamini & Victor M. Tshivhase

  2. Nuclear Physics Group, iThemba LABS (Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences), Cape Town, South Africa

    Peane Maleka

  3. ATRSN (Agence Tchadienne de la Radioprotection et la Sûreté Nucléaire), N’Djamena, Chad

    Samafou Penabei

  4. Department of Physics, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana

    Machel Mashaba

Authors
  1. Thulani C. Dlamini
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  2. Victor M. Tshivhase
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  3. Peane Maleka
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  4. Samafou Penabei
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  5. Machel Mashaba
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Correspondence to Thulani C. Dlamini.

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Conflict of interest

The anionic exchange resins used in this study were requested by the research team and supplied by Purolite as free 1L samples. No further support or contact was maintained with Purolite after the supply of the resins.

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Dlamini, T.C., Tshivhase, V.M., Maleka, P. et al. The effect of uranium speciation on the removal of gross alpha activity from acid mine drainage using anion exchange resin. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 319, 357–363 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-018-6354-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-018-6354-7

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