Structure/function studies of resorcinol-formaldehyde (R-F) and phenol-formaldehyde (P-F) copolymer ion-exchange resins

Abstract

he U.S. Department of Energy`s (DOE) Hanford Site was established to produce plutonium for the U.S. defense mission. Over the course of decades, hazardous, toxic, and radioactive chemical wastes were generated and disposed of in a variety of ways including storage in underground tanks. An estimated 180 million tons of high-level radioactive wastes are stored in 177 underground storage tanks. During production of fissile plutonium, large quantities of 90Sr and 137CS were produced. The high abundance and intermediate length half- lives of these fission products are the reason that effort is directed toward selective removal of these radionuclides from the bulk waste stream before final tank waste disposal is effected. Economically, it is desirable to remove the highly radioactive fraction of the tank waste for vitrification. Ion-exchange technology is being evaluated for removing cesium from Hanford Site waste tanks. This report summarizes data and analysis performed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)for both resorcinol-formaldehyde (R-F) and phenol-formaldehyde (P-F) resins and relates their observed differences in performance and chemical stability to their structure. The experimental approach used to characterize the resins was conducted using primarily two types of data: batch distribution coefficients (Kds) and solid-state 13C NMR. Comparison of these data for a particular resin allowed correlation of resin performance to resin structure. Additional characterization techniques included solid-state 19F NMR, and elemental analyses.