Abstract
The possibility to use natural zeolite - clinoptilolite as a host material for radioactive Cs immobilization has been investigated. Cs-exchanged form of clinoptilolite which was prepared by treatment of clinoptilolite powder with 0.25 M CsCl solution was compacted. Both, powder and powder compact of exchanged clinoptilolite were thermally treated at 1200?C. The XRPD analysis showed that Cs was successfully immobilized after heat treatment by formation of stable cesium dodecaoxo-alumopentasilicate in both, powder sample and compact. The newly formed compound showed satisfactory Cs ions retention during leaching test. The sintered compact showed somewhat better resistance to Cs leaching than the thermally treated powder. The compressive strength of sintered compact was close to 200 MPa which is more than enough for easy handling and safe storage.
Highlights
Cesium isotopes, which are the main fission products and major components of intermediate level radioactive wastes [1] belong to the most hazardous radiotoxic elements and present a serious environmental problem
Semiquantitative elemental analysis of samples before and after ion exchange was performed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDXS), using an Oxford Instruments XMax SDD spectrometer coupled to a JEOL JSM-6610LV scanning electron microscope
This study indicates that the thermal treatment of Cs-exchanged clinoptilolite enhances the retention capacity of exchanged Cs ions by trapping these ions inside the resulting crystalline structure
Summary
Cesium isotopes, which are the main fission products and major components of intermediate level radioactive wastes [1] belong to the most hazardous radiotoxic elements and present a serious environmental problem. One of the most effective procedures consists of two steps: (1) removal of Cs cations by ion exchange and (2) suitable solidification treatment [4, 5]. Natural or synthetic, have successfully been proposed as valid alternative exchangers [6]. These aluminosilicate compounds show high resistance to radioactive irradiation [7] and high affinity for Cs cations [1, 8]. Natural zeolites such as mordenite, erionite, chabazite and clinoptilolite have already been taken into consideration for
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