Abstract
Regeneration solutions from mixed-use filters for condensate removal are one of the main sources of liquid radioactive wastes from nuclear power plants with RBMK reactors. To reduce the amount of liquid radioactive wastes substantially at the Smolensk nuclear power plant, a technology has been developed for removing radionuclides from the regeneration solutions, including mixing of acidic and alkaline regeneration solutions with pH up to 9–10. Copper and iron cations and other ions undergoing hydrolysis, which are present in acidic regenerate as an impurity, precipitate as hydroxides on neutralization by an alkaline regenerate. Cobalt and manganese coprecipitate partially together with the hydroxides. After a holding period, the clarified or filtered solution reaches a stage of ion-selective purification using the radiation-resistant inorganic sorbents Termoksid-3 and Termoksid-35. The filtrate, having a total activity much less than 3·10–10 Ci/liter, is reprocessed as a nonradioactive solution of the salt NaNO3. The results of service-life tests of the technology are presented.
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Sharygin, L.M., Muromskii, A.Y., Kalyagina, M.L. et al. Precipitation-Sorption Technology for Purifying the Regeneration Solutions of Condensate-Removal Filters at the Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant. Atomic Energy 95, 466–472 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025896230319
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025896230319