Issue 37, 2023

Impact of the degradation leachate of the polyacrylonitrile-based material UP2W on the retention of Ni(ii), Eu(iii) and Pu(iv) by cement

Abstract

The uptake of 63Ni(II), 152Eu(III) and 242Pu(IV) by hardened cement paste (HCP, CEM I) in the degradation stage II (pH ≈ 12.5, [Ca] ≈ 0.02 M) was investigated in the presence of a degradation leachate of UP2W, a polyacrylonitrile-based (PAN) material used as a filter aid in nuclear power plants. The degradation leachate with a concentration of dissolved organic carbon of ∼40 ppm was obtained from the degradation of UP2W in portlandite-buffered solutions for ca. 1100 days. Redox conditions in the Pu systems were buffered with hydroquinone, which defines mildly reducing conditions (pe + pH ≈ 10) where Pu(IV) is the predominant oxidation state. The degradation leachate investigated in this work is moderately sorbed by cement, with distribution ratios (Rd) of (0.35 ± 0.15) m3 kg−1. These values are 30 to 100 times greater than distribution ratios previously reported for proxy ligands of PAN degradation products, i.e., glutaric acid, α-hydroxyisobutyric acid and 3-hydroxybutyric acid. The presence of the degradation leachate induces a moderate decrease in the uptake of 63Ni(II), 152Eu(III) and 242Pu(IV) by cement, as compared to the sorption in the presence of the proxy ligands. Nevertheless, retention in the presence of the degradation leachate remains high for all investigated radionuclides, with Rd(63Ni(II)) ≈ 2 m3 kg−1, Rd(152Eu(III)) ≈ 100 m3 kg−1 and Rd(242Pu(IV)) ≈ 30 m3 kg−1. These observations possibly reflect that the multiple functionalities (–COOH, –OH, amide groups) expected in the macromolecules (10–15 kDa) present in the degradation leachate, can offer further binding/chelating capabilities compared to the small organic proxy ligands with at most bidentate binding.

Graphical abstract: Impact of the degradation leachate of the polyacrylonitrile-based material UP2W on the retention of Ni(ii), Eu(iii) and Pu(iv) by cement

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
06 Jul 2023
Accepted
31 Aug 2023
First published
31 Aug 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Dalton Trans., 2023,52, 13324-13331

Impact of the degradation leachate of the polyacrylonitrile-based material UP2W on the retention of Ni(II), Eu(III) and Pu(IV) by cement

P. G. Szabo, A. G. Tasi, X. Gaona, A. C. Maier, S. Hedström, M. Altmaier and H. Geckeis, Dalton Trans., 2023, 52, 13324 DOI: 10.1039/D3DT02122J

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