Desalination, Vol.144, No.1-3, 267-272, 2002
D2EHPA based strontium removal from strongly alkaline nuclear waste
A method for Sr removal from strong alkaline solutions in the presence of 1M NaOH and 3M NaNO3 has been developed. The method is based on Di-2-ethyl hexyl phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) acting as a carrier in liquid membrane or as an extractant in simultaneous extraction-reextraction. After removal, Sr can be precipitated as SrSO4 if H2SO4 is used as the stripping phase, thus giving the possibility to concentrate radioactive Sr in a small Volume of solid phase within one technological step. Using this method in a bulk liquid membrane process without EDTA, a rate of Sr removal near 10(-6) mol-m(-2)-s(-1) could be achieved, which is typical for liquid membranes. The hindrance effect of EDTA on the Sr removal has been demonstrated and a simple method to reduce this effect by addition of Ca2+ is suggested. In the case of the extraction-reextraction process with the membrane based demulsification, 98% of Sr was removed at a rate of 4.5 x 10(-9) mol-s(-1)-L-1. The process is simple and should allow removal of all radioactive Sr from radioactive waste at the Hanford site, USA, in one to two years, depending on the plant scale.
Keywords:alkaline nuclear waster;Sr removal;D2EHPA;bulk liquid membrane;extraction-reextraction process;hindrance effect of EDTA