Abstract

Various metal antimonate MSbO (M = W, Si, Mn) ion exchangers have been studied for the removal of several key radionuclides (60Co, 90Sr and 137Cs) from nuclear waste solutions. Special emphasis was the removal of radionuclides from acidic effluents and from high Ca effluents. Synthesis and initial screening test indicated that increasing the degree of substitution of other metals (M) for Sb increases the uptake of divalent cations (Sr, Co) in acidic media. Some of the synthesised compounds also showed considerable tolerance for Ca ions in Sr removal. Column tests with granular silicon antimonates gave very good decontamination factors (DF) for 85Sr (DF up to 10000) and 134Cs (DF up to 600) in nitric acid solution (0.1 M). Also in Ca-bearing pond water simulants, very high DF’s were obtained, up to 5000 for 57Co and up to 3000 for 85Sr. Precoat tests with manganese antimonate powder gave high decontamination factors for 57Co (DF up to 600) in simulated NPP Floor Drain Water. The studied metal antimonates performed generally considerably better than the commercial materials (zeolite, titanate, and silicotitanate) that were tested in parallel for reference.

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