Abstract
In the present work, an ion exchange-based radionuclides removal method for the treatment of radioactive laboratory organic liquid waste was developed. The removal of radionuclides was accomplished with the combined action of an in-house developed chelating type polystyrene based weakly acidic cation exchange resin and oxalic acid complexant. The efficacy of the method was investigated based on the results of gamma spectrometry, liquid scintillation counting and alpha spectrometry. The radioactive organic liquid waste treatment was demonstrated finally through column mode of separation method for nearly 1 Litre of the waste.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baker A, Fells A, Carrott MJ, Maher CJ, Hanson BC (2022) Process intensification of element extraction using centrifugal contactors in the nuclear fuel cycle. Chem Soc Rev 51:3964–3999
Simiele GA, Fjeld RA, Robertson C (1987) Radioactive decontamination of waste oil by filtration, centrifugation, and chelation. Nucl Chem Waste Manage 7:257–263
Trznadel Z (2013) Advances in membrane technologies for the treatment of liquid radioactive waste. Desalination 321:119–130
Rana D, Matsuura T, Kassim MA, Ismail AF (2013) Radioactive decontamination of water by membrane processes—a review. Desalination 321:77–92
Arm S, Phillips C (2011) Chemical engineering for advanced aqueous radioactive materials separations. In: Advanced Separation Techniques for Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing and Radioactive Waste Treatment, Woodhead Publishing, pp. 58–94.
IAEA Safety Standards, Disposal of Radioactive Waste for protecting people and the environment, Disposal of Radioactive Waste, Specific Safety Requirements, No. SSR-5, Fundamental Safety Principles (2006)
Wang C, Yu G, Wang J (2020) Oxidative degradation of spent organic solvents from nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. Prog Nucl Energ 130:103563
Wattal P K, Deshingkar D S, Srinivas C, Naik D B, Manohar S (2003) Combined processes and techniques for processing of organic radioactive waste. Combined methods for liquid radioactive waste treatment, IAEA-TECDOC-1336. pp-121.
Mezyk SP, Horne GP, Mincher BJ, Zalupski PR, Cook AR, Wishart JF (2016) The chemistry of separations ligand degradation by organic radical cations. Procedia Chem 21:61–65
Higgins CE, Baldwin WH (1961) The thermal decomposition of tributyl phosphate1. J Org Chem 26:846–850
Belova EV, Ponomarev AV, Smirnov AV (2022) Radiation-induced effects during the extraction of Pu-239 nitrate with a solution of tributyl phosphate in octafluoropentanol formal. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 331:4405–4412
Aly H (2021) Wet-oxidation of spent organic waste tributyl phosphate/diluents. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 249:643–647
Regulatory control of radioactive discharges to the environment and dispsoal of solid waste, AERB Technical document (2021), AERB safety guide no. AERB/NRF/SG/RW-10, AERB, India.
Sreenivasulu B, Brahmananda Rao CVS, Suresh A, Sivaraman N (2022) Recovery of actinides from acidic waste solutions generated in research facilities using adsorption and extraction techniques. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 331:3623–3632
Suneesh AS, Syamala KV, Venkatesan KA, Antony MP, Vasudeva Rao PR (2015) Diglycolamic acid modified silica gel for the separation of hazardous trivalent metal ions from aqueous solution. J Colloid Inter Sci 438:55–60
Suneesh AS, Kumaresan R, Rajeswari S, Nayak PK, Syamala KV, Venkatesan KA, Antony MP, Rao PRV (2013) Development and demonstration of americium (III)-europium (III) separation using diglycolamic acid. Sep Sci Technol 48:1998–2006
Jose J, Prathibha T, Karthikeyan NS, Venkatesan KA, Robert Selvan B, Seshadri H, Venkatachalapathy B, Ravichandran C (2021) Comparative evaluation of radiolytic stability of aqueous soluble BTP and BTBP derivatives under static gamma irradiation. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 328:1127–1136
Gunnink R (1978) Gamma spectrometric methods for measuring plutonium, OSTI Technical document, UCRL-80464, CONF-780522–5, TRN, 78–011562
Holm E (1984) Review of Alpha-Particle Spectrometric Measurements of Actinides. Inter J Applied Rad Isotopes. 35: 285–290.
Acknowledgements
Authors thank the support from Dr. B. Sreenivasulu by providing the appropriate radioactive organic liquid waste. The authors express sincere acknowledgements to Dr. A. Suresh, Head, FChD, Dr. V. Jayaraman, Associate Director, FMCG and Dr. N. Sivaraman, Director, MC&MFCG for their constant support and encouragement.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors wish to confirm that there are no known conflicts of interest associated with this publication and there has been no significant financial support for this work that could have influenced its outcome.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Suneesh, A.S., Rout, A., Prathibha, T. et al. Development of a chelating ion exchange-based radionuclides removal method for the treatment of routine laboratory organic liquid waste. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 332, 2771–2783 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-023-08927-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-023-08927-z