Compound removes radioactive material from power plant waste
Layered sulfides bond to strontium 90, other radioactive ions
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ARGONNE, Ill. (March 13, 2008) — Strontium 90 is a common radioactive
by-product of fission in nuclear power plants. When extracted from the reactor
along with other isotopes, a mixture is created made up of the radioactive
material and inert ions like sodium and calcium.
Scientists at U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and
Northwestern University have developed a compound that captures the radioactive
ions so they can be siphoned off and separated from inert material.
"The layered sulfides used work quite well," scientist Mercouri Kanatzidis
said. “We even surprised ourselves.”
This mixture is often incredibly acidic or alkaline, making it difficult to
find a compound that can survive long enough to extract the strontium and not
react with the sodium, which is harmless.
Kanatzidis and colleague Manolis Manos created a synthetic compound made up
of sulfides that can survive in the harsh acidic or alkaline climate of the
mixture and strip away 99 percent of the strontium 90.
“The material is remarkably simple and can be created in large quantities
at a relatively low cost,” Kanatzidis said.
The synthetic compound trades its own potassium ions for strontium and can
almost completely replace the radioactive element within a few hours.
The next step is to experiment with the compound's ability to siphon away
other common radioactive elements like cesium and uranium.
The research has been published in the early online edition of the Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences.
Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology.
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the U.S.
Department of Energy's Office
of Science.
For more information, please
contact Brock Cooper (630/252-5565 or media@anl.gov)
at Argonne.
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