Decontamination of radioactive soil wastes using an agglomeration-leaching process

Jung-Joon Lee; Jeikwon Moon; Gye-Nam Kim; Kune-Woo Lee

Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, Vol.27, No.2, 639-644, February, 2010

DOI10.1007/s11814-010-0073-2 Export Citation

Decontamination of radioactive soil wastes using an agglomeration-leaching process

Jung-Joon Lee, Jeikwon Moon^†, Gye-Nam Kim, and Kune-Woo Lee

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, 1045 Daedeokdaero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-353, Korea

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An agglomeration-leaching process was evaluated to decontaminate Co-60 and Cs-137 from radioactive soils. Radioactive soils were screened based on the particle size of 0.075 mm. The soils with particle size of less than 0.075 mm were agglomerated by using a 2 wt% Na2SiO3 which had been predetermined to be an optimum reagent for an agglomeration. The agglomerated soils were mixed with the other soils with particle size bigger than 0.075 mm for leaching tests. Several leaching solutions were evaluated for their leaching performances for Co-60 and Cs-137 from simulated soil wastes, and the 0.1 M HCl solution was shown to be the most effective one. Leaching tests for radioactive soils in a column showed that the radioactive soils contaminated with Co-60 and Cs-137 radionuclides could be decontaminated down to the potential release criteria (~100 Bq/kg) by using the appropriate conditions of an agglomeration- leaching process.

Keywords:Agglomeration;Leaching;Radioactive Soil;Decontamination;Co;Cs

[References]

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[1] IAEA, Safety Report Series No. 44, International Atomic Energy Agency (2004)

[2] Son JK, Kang KD, Kim HS, Park KR, J. Korean Radioactive Waste Society, 2, 245 (2004)

[3] Kim GN, Oh WZ, J. Korean Society Soil and Groundwater Environment, 8, 17 (2003)

[4] Oh WZ, Kim GN, J. Korean Radioactive Waste Society, 2, 145 (2004)

[5] Kim GN, Oh WZ, Won HJ, Choi WK, J. Ind. Eng. Chem., 9(3), 306 (2003)

[6] Majid A, Argue S, Minerals Engineering, 14, 1513 (2001)

[7] Tampouris S, Papassiopi N, Paspaliaris I, J. Hazardous Materials, B84, 297 (2001)

[8] Wan RY, LeVier KM, Int. J. Miner. Process, 72, 311 (2003)

[9] Coderre F, Dixon DG, Hydrometallurgy, 52, 151 (1999)

[10] Finzgar N, Lestan D, Chemosphere, 63, 1736 (2006)

[11] Carlsson E, Buchel G, Chemie der Erde, 65, 75 (2005)

[12] Mufioz JA, GonzBlez F, Blizquez ML, Ballester A, Hydrometallurgy, 38, 39 (1995)

[13] Mason CFV, Turney WRJR, York DA, Chisholm-Brause CJ, LA-UR-94-3689, Los Alamos National Laboratory (1994)

[14] Moon JK, Lee EH, Kim HT, Korean J. Chem. Eng., 21(5), 1026 (2004)

[15] Moon JK, Lee EH, Han YJ, Lee BC, Kim HT, Korean J. Chem. Eng., 22(1), 127 (2005)