Abstract
Liquid radioactive waste has been generated from the use of radioactive materials in industrial applications, research and medicine in Turkey. Natural zeolites (clinoptilolite) have been studied for the removal of several key radionuclides (137Cs, 60Co, 90Sr and 110mAg) from liquid radioactive waste. The aim of the present study is to investigate effectiveness of zeolite treatment on decontamination factor (DF) in a combined process (chemical precipitation and adsorption) at the laboratory tests and scale up to the waste treatment plant. In this study, sorption and precipitation techniques were adapted to decontamination of liquid low level waste (LLW). Effective decontamination was achieved when sorbents are used during the chemical precipitation. Natural zeolite samples were taken from different zeolite formations in Turkey. Comparison of the ion-exchange properties of zeolite minerals from different formations shows that Gordes clinoptilolite was the most suitable natural sorbent for radionuclides under dynamic treatment conditions and as an additive for chemical precipitation process. Clinoptilolite were shown to have a high selectivity for 137Cs and 110mAg as sorbent. In the absence of potassium ions, native clinoptilolite removed 60Co and 90Sr very effectively from the liquid waste. In the end of this liquid waste treatment, decontamination factor was provided as 430 by using 0.5mm clinoptilolite at 30°C.
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