UrFU Chemists Introduced a Much Safer Technology Than Ever for Nuclear Waste Disposal

08:52, August 12, 2020

It involves a decrease in the volume of industrial sorbents by hundreds of times

Chemists of the Ural Federal University and specialists of the Uralbiosintez Research and Production Center have developed an environmentally friendly and low-cost technology for the disposal of industrial sorbents (ion-exchange resins).

Ion exchange resins are used in water purification complexes at nuclear power plants and enterprises of the nuclear technological cycle. They are saturated with isotopes and belong to low-level and medium-level sorbents of the group of liquid radioactive waste (LRW). They are stored in the "deferred decision" repositories. The approximate increase in the sorbents accumulated in the storages is up to 30 thousand m3 per year. Due to the instability of resins, their storage requires special conditions and, as a result, serious costs for the construction, operation and maintenance of special complex infrastructure, and payment of environmental fees.

“Our technology consists of three stages. At the first stage, solid ion-exchange sorbents are converted into an aqueous solution. Then the organic component of the resulting solution is subjected to destruction using specially grown safe microorganisms. At the last stage, the resulting mineral residue is completely dehydrated using a microwave calcination unit. The volume of the resulting product is hundreds of times less than the original processed material ”, - describes the co-author of the technology, head of the Department of Physical and Colloidal Chemistry of UrFU Vyacheslav Markov.

The biodegradation technology does not require high temperatures and extreme pressure; it is sufficient to maintain the temperature in the reaction vessels in the range of 20–30 ° C and saturate with ordinary air.

“Therefore, our technology is significantly cheaper and safer in comparison with other known methods of utilization of ion-exchange sorbents. From the point of view of economic indicators, the proposed technological solutions for the disposal of one cubic meter of sorbent are equivalent to the annual cost of storing it in a state before processing, ”adds Dmitry Savinykh, director of the Uralbiosintez Scientific and Production Center.

Dehydrated and compact radioactive waste resulting from reprocessing can be finally and safely disposed of in radioactive waste disposal facilities. The technology will help to eliminate storage facilities for temporary placement of liquid radioactive waste, eliminate the need to build new large technological complexes for temporary placement of liquid radioactive waste.

“The estimated cost of construction of new NPP power units will significantly decrease. In addition, the safety of radioactive waste management on the territory of operating nuclear power plants and enterprises of the nuclear technological cycle will significantly increase, the risk of LRW entering the environment will be completely excluded, ”emphasizes Alexander Cherepanov, deputy director of the UrFU center for work with enterprises.

The structures of the state corporation "Rosatom" have already shown interest in innovative technology. The specialists of UrFU and SPC Uralbiosintez are able to bring it to the stage of full readiness for industrial implementation - both in Russia and at foreign facilities. For example, for the Akkuyu NPP in Turkey under construction and maintained by Rosatom.