Remediation Of Uranium-contaminated Soil Research Articles

Study on the remediation of uranium-contaminated soils by compound leaching: Screening of leaching agents and a pilot-scale application

To solve the problem of soil environmental pollution resulting from uranium mine development and production, a soil slurry reactor was used to evaluate the use of chemical leaching to remediate uranium-contaminated soils and to analyze possible uranium removal mechanisms through laboratory-scale trials and pilot-scale trials. A laboratory-scale trial comparing different reagents and operating methods revealed that the removal of total uranium from contaminated soil could reach 91.18% under optimal conditions when FeCl3, OA, NaClO2, and HEDP were used as eluents.Based on the optimal ratio and operating conditions determined from laboratory-scale trials, a pilot-scale trial was conducted around a uranium mining area: soil leaching remediation was conducted in two 3 m3 soil-slurry reactors to verify the practicality of the leaching technology and examine the functionality of the remediated soil. The experimental results showed that the rate of uranium removal from contaminated soil by the chemical leaching method was greater than 80%. FTIR, XRF and enzyme activity analysis proved that remediation restored the original soil function and reduced the ecological risk, indicating that the chemical leaching technology was environmentally friendly and economical. These findings provide insight to guide the future assessment and remediation practices of uranium-contaminated sites.

Uranium bioprecipitation mediated by a phosphate-solubilizing Enterobacter sp. N1-10 and remediation of uranium-contaminated soil

Uranium (U) pollution in soils is prevalent worldwide and poses a significant health risk that will require remediation approaches. However, traditional U bioreduction by sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) are sensitive to oxygen and are not suitable for treating aerobic topsoil. Bioprecipitation of U into uranyl phosphate (UP) mediated by phosphate-solubilizing microorganism (PSM) is not affected by oxygen. In this study, PSM strains were isolated and used for U-contaminated soil remediation. Microbial metabolites and the mechanism of PSM bioprecipitation were revealed. The results showed that strain Enterobacter sp. N1-10 had the highest phosphate-solubilizing capacity (dissolved P was 409.51 ± 8.48 mg/L). Uranium bioprecipitation was investigated by culturing the bacterium in the presence of 50 mg/L U and in the cell-free culture supernatant. The results showed that strain N1–10 had a high U removal rate (99.45 ± 0.43 %) after adding 50 mg/L U to the culture medium. A yellow precipitate was immediately formed when uranyl nitrate solution was added to the cell-free culture supernatant. The analysis indicated that bacterium produced lactic acid (37.58 mg/L), citric acid (4.76 mg/L), succinic acid (2.03 mg/L), and D-glucuronic acid (1.94 mg/L); the four organic acids solubilized Ca3(PO4)2 to form stable uranyl phosphate precipitate. The application of strain N1-10 and Ca3(PO4)2 significantly decreased the bioavailability of soil U (43.54 ± 0.52 %). In addition, pot experiments showed that PSM N1-10 and Ca3(PO4)2 promoted plant growth and markedly reduced U accumulation by pakchoi. These results demonstrate that PSM N1-10 and Ca3(PO4)2 exhibit a great potential for U bioremediation.

Electrokinetic remediation of uranium(VI)-contaminated red soil using composite electrolyte of citric acid and ferric chloride.

In the process of electrokinetic (EK) remediation of uranium-contaminated soil, the existence form of uranium in soil pore fluid will affect on its migration behavior. In this paper, a novel type of electrolyte (citric acid + ferric chloride, CA+ FeCl3) has been investigated for the EK remediation of uranium-contaminated red soil. The effects of different electrolyte and the concentrations of FeCl3 on migration behavior of U(VI) and environmental risks were investigated after EK remediation. The result showed that the optimum concentration was 0.1mol/L CA mixed with 0.03mol/L FeCl3 in this study. At this time, the removal efficiency of uranium was about 61.55 ± 0.41%, and the cumulative energy consumption was 0.2559kWh. Compared with deionized water and single CA, combined CA with FeCl3 has the advantages of high removal efficiency, low leaching toxicity, and less damage to the soil after the electrokinetic remediation treatment.

Reduction of Radioactive Waste from Remediation of Uranium-Contaminated Soil

Great amounts of solid radioactive waste (second waste) and waste solution are generated from the remediation of uranium-contaminated soil. To reduce these, we investigated washing with a less acidic solution and recycling the waste solution after removal of the dominant elements and uranium. Increasing the pH of the washing solution from 0.5 to 1.5 would be beneficial in terms of economics. A high content of calcium in the waste solution was precipitated by adding sulfuric acid. The second waste can be significantly reduced by using sorption and desorption techniques on ampholyte resin S-950 prior to the precipitation of uranium at pH 3.0.

Characterization and solubility measurements of uranium-contaminated soils to support risk assessment.

Remediation of uranium-contaminated soils is considered a high priority by the U.S. Department of Energy because these soils, if left untreated, represent a hazard to the environment and human health. Because the risk to human health is a function of the solubility of uranium in the soils, the objectives of this work are to measure the uranium solubility of two contaminated soils, before and after remedial treatment, and determine the health risk associated with these soils. Two carbonate-rich, uranium-contaminated soils from the U.S. Department of Energy Fernald Environmental Management Project facility near Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as two nearby background soils were characterized and their uranium solubility measured in a 75-d solubility experiment using acid rain, groundwater, lung serum, and stomach acid simulants. Results show that the soluble uranium levels of each soil by each simulant are greatly influenced by their contamination source term. Risk calculations and biokinetic modeling based on the solubility data show that the risks from the soil ingestion and groundwater ingestion pathways are the predominant contributors to the total carcinogenic risk, whereas the risk from the soil inhalation pathway is the smallest contributor to this risk. However, kidney toxicity was the greater health concern of the Fernald Environmental Management Project soils, primarily from undiluted ingestion of the groundwater solution following contact with the contaminated soils. Sensitivity analyses indicate that uranium solubility is a key parameter in defining kidney toxicity; therefore, without proper consideration of the solubility of radionuclides/metals in untreated and treated soils, important factors may be overlooked which may result in soil cleanup goals or limits which are not protective of human health and the environment. We recommend that characterization and measurement of target radionuclides/metals solubilities should also be required by the regulatory community to support the establishment of scientifically-sound, site-specific, soil cleanup goals or limits.