Simultaneous separation and consolidation of ~(137)Cs from alkaline intermediate level reprocessing waste using resorcinol formaldehyde polycondensate resin and zeolite sorbent

摘要

An innovative process has been adopted in India for highly efficient separation of ~(137)Cs from alkaline reprocessing waste using cesium-selective Resorcinol Formaldehyde Polycondensate Resin (RFPR) in repeated loading-elution cycles [1-3]. Elution of ~(137)Cs leads to its concentration in a small volume of dilute nitric acid. Further consolidation of ~(137)Cs has been found possible by passing the accumulated eluate through a small column containing synthetic zeolite of mordenite type [4]. The zeolite can be encapsulated for use as a radiation source or stored for future processing and recovery of ~(137)Cs. In this connection, it is of interest to see if ~(137)Cs can be loaded as effectively on the zeolite column by directly connecting it downstream to the RFPR column during elution, The composition of the feed to the zeolite column is not constant in this case but varies continuously with progress of elution In fact, the peak ~(137)Cs concentration could be several times higher than its average concentration in the accumulated eluate.