Chemical Separation Technologies and Related Methods of Nuclear Waste Management: Applications, Problems, and Research Needs

314 Pages·1999·13.65 MB·English

by  G. R. Choppin (auth.)

Chemical Separation Technologies and Related
Methods of Nuclear Waste Management
NATO Science Series
A Series presenting the results of activities sponsored by the NA TO Science Committee.
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Series 2: Environmental Security - Vol. 53
Chemical Separation Technologies
and Related Methods of
Nuclear Waste Management
Applications, Problems,
and Research Needs
edited by
Gregory R. Choppin
Department of Chemistry and
Institute for International Cooperative Environmental Research,
Florida State University,
Tallahassee,
Florida, U.S.A.
and
Mikhail Kh. Khankhasayev
Joint Institute for Nuclear Research,
Dubna, Russia,
and Institute for International Cooperative Environmental Research,
Florida State University,
Tallahassee,
Florida, U.S.A.
Springer Science+Business Media, B.V.
Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on
Chemical Separation Technologies and Related Methods of Nuclear Waste Manage
ment: Applications, Problems and Research Needs
Dubna, Russia
May 18-28, 1998
A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-0-7923-5639-4 ISBN 978-94-011-4546-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-011-4546-6
Printed an acid-free paper
AII Rights Reserved
© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1999
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1999
No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo
copying, record ing or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written
permission from the copyrig:lt owner.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface ............................................................ vii
Opening Session .................................................... ix
Vladimir G. Kadyshevsky
Boris F. Myasoedov
Roy C. Herndon
Chapter I. Nuclear Separation Methods and Technologies: 1944 -1998
Overview of Chemical Separation Methods and Technologies
G.R. Choppin
Review of Historical Development and Application of Separation Technologies
in Russia ........................................................... 17
v.N. Romanovsky
Reprocessing of Nuclear Fuel: Overview/Critique of the Worldwide Experience
and Engineering/Technology Challenges for Separations ..................... 29
R.G. Wymer
Chapter II. Nuclear Separation Methods and Technologies: 1999 -?
Technology Needs for Actinide and Technetium Separations Based on Solvent
Extraction, Ion Exchange and Other Processes .............................. 53
G.D. Jarvinen
Review of Non-Aqueous Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing and Separation Methods.
(View on World Experience from Dimitrovgrad) ............................ 71
A. V. Bychlwv and 0. V. Skiba
Review of Possible Technologies for Actinide Separation Using Other
Extractants than TBP ................................................. 99
C. Musikas
Studies of the Chemistry of Transactinides by Fast Separation Techniques ...... 123
I. Zvara
Chapter III. Technology Needs for Nuclear Waste Processing
New Extraction Technologies for Management of Radioactive Wastes .......... 135
V.V. Babain and A. Yu. Shadrin
vi
Application of New Inorganic-Organic Composite Absorbers with
Polyacrylonitrile Binding Matrix for Separation of Radionuclides from
Liquid Radioactive Wastes ............................................ 155
J John, F. Sebesta and A. Motl
R&D Needs of Chemical Separation Technologies for Nuclear Wastes from
the Perspective of Federal Governmental Programs of Russia ................. 169
M Khankhasayev and A. V. Komarov
Nuclear Waste Management: A Bioremediation Approach ................... 187
H Eccles
Chapter IV. Nuclear Wastes and Environment
Up-to-date Radioecological Situation around the "Mayak" Nuclear Facility ...... 209
B.F. Myasoedov and E.G. Drozhko
The Environmental Impacts ofUraniurn Mining and Milling and the Methods
of their Reduction ................................................... 225
P. Benes
Role of Hurnics in Actinide Behavior in Ecosystems ........................ 247
G.R. Choppin
ChapterV. Risk Assessment and Safety Issues
Risk Assessment for Chemicals & Radionuclides: Some Characteristics,
Similarities and Differences 261
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eM Tea!
The View from Russia of the Soviet-Designed Reactor Safety Program of
the U.S. Department of Energy 273
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Glossary .......................................................... 289
List of Abbreviations ............................................... 293
Index ............................................................. 297
PREFACE
The NATO sponsored Advanced Study Institute (ASI) "Chemical Separation Technologies
and Related Methods of Nuclear Waste Management: Applications, Problems and Research
Needs" was held at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) , Dubna, Russia from
May 18th to 28th, 1998. This was the first NATO ASI on chemical separation technologies
conducted in Russia, and also the first ASI conducted at JINR in Dubna.
The major topic of the ASI was chemical separation technologies in nuclear waste
management. These separation technologies are of critical importance if the goal of
significantly reducing the volume of high-level nuclear waste and thereby reducing the long
term health risks to humans is to be achieved. There is an urgent need to enlist and train
scientists and engineers in the solution of these serious and pressing nuclear waste
management problems. One of the principal goals of this ASI was to introduce the
participants to research in this field and to provide opportunities for them to become
involved in cooperative research projects. International cooperation, including the sharing of
concepts and methods as well as technology transfer, is essential in accelerating research and
development in this field.
The ASI was organized and conducted by Florida State University (Tallahassee,
Florida, USA) and by JINR. The location chosen for the ASI venue contributed significantly
to its success by increasing the opportunities for attendance by participants from Russia,
Central and Eastern European countries, Greece and Turkey. Supplementary funds provided
by the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation made it possible to increase the
number of ASI participants from Russia. Supplementary travel funds were also provided by
the US National Science Foundation, the Scientific and Technical Research Council of
Turkey, the General Secretariat of Research and Technology of the Ministry of Development
of Greece, and the National Council of Science and Technology of Portugal. We would like
express our deep thanks to these agencies. The 80 ASI participants represented 14 countries,
Belgium, Belarus, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Russia,
Spain, Turkey, Ukraine. United Kingdom, and USA.
The ASI gave young scientists and engineers from universities, research
institutions, and national research centers that are (or were) closely related to the defense
industry an opportunity to have in-depth discussions with their colleagues from other
countries on issues of mutual interest in the areas of chemical separations and nuclear waste
management. The participants were able to create professional and personal links which will
help them to cooperate more effectively on solving pressing environmental issues caused by
the operation of nuclear power plants and the residual problems of defense industry
installations. The ASI also helped to promote significantly the development of the non
defense related nuclear based industry in Russia.
The lecturers of the ASI were internationally recognized experts in the field of
separation technologies who were well qualified to assess and critique the current state of
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separation research as well as to identify future opportunities for the application of separation
technologies to the solution of nuclear waste management problems.
The ASI case studies and site tours that were integrated into the classroom activities
and the follow-up discussions helped to illustrate the lecture material and to give a practical
perspective to the ASI. We express special thanks to the staff of the Moscow Scientific and
Industrial Association "Radon" and the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions of the Joint
Institute for Nuclear Research for conducting site tours and practical demonstrations of the
lecture material.
The course material was also supplemented by seminars and by intensive work of
the four discussion groups which were guided by the ASI lecturers. The goal of these working
groups was to discuss research opportunities in the utilization of innovative and potentially
more efficient and cost effective processes for waste processing/treatment, actinide
speciation/separation methods, technological processing, and environmental restoration.
These guided discussion sessions greatly enhanced the process of creating professional
contacts among the ASI participants, including both lecturers and students.
We thank the members of the Organizing Committee, the ASI lecturers and chair
persons for their help and guidance in developing and implementing the ASI curriculum. We
also express our thanks to the staff of the Institute for International Cooperative
Environmental Research at Florida State University for their support and help in organizing
and conducting this ASI. We are especially grateful to our friend and colleague Professor
Hans Plendl for his support and ,help. We would like to thank the JINR Working Group
members Valentina Novikova, Galina Sandukovskaya, Larissa Korneychuk, Vladislav
Babchik, and Irina Ivanova for their dedicated work. We are deeply grateful to the staff of the
Bogolubov Laboratory of Theoretical Physics for their support and for hosting the ASI in
their building. We also express our appreciation to all members of the JINR International
Department staff who helped to conduct this workshop. We express our sincere appreciation
to those individuals who reviewed the various chapters of this book.
We wish to acknowledge the NATO Advisory Panel on the Priority Area of
Environmental Security and Dr. Luis Veiga da Cunha for their guidance and assistance
concerning the organization, format and focus of the Advanced Study Institute.
NATO ASI Co-Directors
Gregory R. Choppin
Florida State University
Mikhail Khankhasayev
Joint Institute/or Nuclear Research
Welcoming addresses at the opening of the NATO ASI on Chemical Separation
Technologies and Related Methods of Nuclear Waste Management: Applications,
Problems and Research Needs
Vladimir G. Kadyshevsky
Director of Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna
Dear Colleagues, it is my privilege to welcome you on behalf of the staff of the Joint
Institute for Nuclear Research. We recognize the importance of the topic of this Advanced
Study Institute and we wish you success for the realization of its the goals.Let me
introduce briefly the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR). We are now 42 years
old. After the end of World War II the world came to realize that nuclear science should
not be confined to secret laboratories and that only wide international co-operation could
insure progress in this fundamental realm of human knowledge and in the peaceful
utilization of atomic energy. As a result, CERN at Geneva and JINR at Dubna were
founded practically simultaneously. These centres have much in common, and it is
significant that they started collaborating very soon after their founding through joint
experiments, publications, conferences, and schools for young scientists. Remaining in
close contact with each other even in the most gloomy years of the Cold War, scientists
from JINR and CERN performed a noble mission promoting mutual understanding among
people from dozens of countries. I would like here to recall the saying of the Russian
empress Elizaveta Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great: "Deeds of the mind root out the
evil". And it is no coincidence that CERN and JINR this year, as in the past year, were
nominated together for Nobel Peace Prize.
During the four decades of its existence, the Joint Institute has made a distinguished
contribution to the investigation of the fundamental properties of the microcosm. JINR
today is an internationally recognized scientific centre which incorporates fundamental
research with the development and application of high technologies. The name of the
Institute is written at the entrance to its administrative building in the languages of the 18
Member States. Germany, Italy, and Hungary participate as well in JINR's activities on
the basis of bilateral agreements. The Joint Institute also takes an active part in
international collaborations at many scientific centres throughout the world.
JINR employs about 6,000 people, including over 1,000 scientists and about 2,000
engineers and technicians. Over 600 preprints and communications are published every
year by members of the Institute. JINR publishes journals that are known world-wide,
"Particles and Nuclei" and JINR Rapid Communications, as well as reports of JINR
activities, the information bulletin JINR News, and proceedings of conferences, schools,
and symposia organized by the Institute.
The Institute comprises seven so-called Laboratories, each being comparable to a
large institute in the scale and scope of the investigations performed. Our basic research
facilities are accelerators and pulsed research reactors. Recently, a superconducting
accelerator of relativistic nuclei, the Nuclotron, was put into operation at the Laboratory of
High Energy Physics. As a modern scientific centre, JINR is equipped with powerful and
fast computation means and is fully integrated into the world computer nets.
The Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions has become famous as a world leader in
producing the heaviest elements with its heavy ion machines U-400 and U-400M.
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Sophisticated methods and technologies of nuclear radiochemistry were developed there
during several decades of intense work. The world scientific community has recognized
the significant contributions of JINR to the discovery of several of the heaviest elements.
As a result the element 105 has been named "Dubnium". You will have an opportunity to
learn more details about the current status in this field of research when well-known
scientists and experts of the Flerov Laboratory will introduce you to their work.
Environmental and nuclear safety issues receive everyday attention. The monitoring
of the environment is a permanent concern of the Radiological Service of our Institute.
Complete nuclear material protection and control have been established at JINR according
to international standards as a result of cooperative work with the US Department of
Energy during the past two years.
As I mentioned above, the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research supports several
educational activities. It has long standing connections with Moscow State University; a
branch of the Nuclear Research Institute of that University is located in Dubna. The
Dubna International University has recently been founded in Dubna; among the major
topics of this University are environmental and ecological issues. And the University
Center at JINR helps our scientists to share their rich experience with the young
generation. So it was only natural that our Institute strongly supported the idea of holding
a meeting like this one at Dubna. This ASI on Chemical Separation Technologies and
Methods is in fact the first NATO sponsored meeting to be held here.
I wish you very successful and enjoyable work. Our Institute will be ready to assist
you with the means at our disposal to make this happen. Thank you for your attention.
Boris F. Myasoedov
President of the Joint Council on Radiochemistry of the Academy of Science and
the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation
Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, let me to welcome you on behalf of the Russian
Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation, and the
Joint Council on Radiochemistry of the Academy of Science and the Ministry of Atomic
Energy.
It is well recognized that atomic energy is one of the most promising sources of
energy production. At the same time the development of nuclear industry is accompanied
by the generation of increasing amounts of high level radioactive wastes. For example, in
Russia, during the 50 years of operation of the nuclear facility "Mayak", radioactive
wastes with an estimated activity of 10 Curies have been accumulated. An analogous
9
situation took place in the US at the Hanford facility. Therefore, one of the most important
issues of modern radiochemistry is the development of a reliable and ecologically safe
long-term disposal of radioactive wastes and, in particular, of long-lived alpha-particle
emitters. To achieve this goal there is a need in research and development of new effective
separation methods and technologies for the treatment of radioactive waste and for new
forms that are suitable for long-term burial of radioactive isotopes. Another important
issue is the development of a completely new technology for reprocessing of spent nuclear
fuel which must comply with ecological safety demands and which must reduce greatly