Economical radioactive soil treatment technology is essential to safely and efficiently treat of high-concentration radioactive areas and contaminated sites during operation of nuclear power plants at home and abroad. This study is to determine the performance of BERAD (Beautiful Environmental construction’s RAdioactive soil Decontamination system) before applying magnetic nanoparticles and adsorbents developed by the KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) which will be used in the national funded project to a large-capacity radioactive soil decontamination system. BERAD uses Soil Washing Process by US EPA (402-R-007-004 (2007)) and can decontaminate 0.5 tons of radioactive soil per hour through water washing and/or chemical washing with particle size separation. When contaminated soil is input to BERAD, the soil is selected and washed, and after going through a rinse stage and particle size separation stage, it discharges decontaminated soil separated by sludge of less than 0.075 mm. In this experiment, the concentrations of four general isotopes (A, B, C, and D which are important radioisotopes when soil is contaminated by them.) were analyzed by using ICP-MS to compare before and after decontamination by BERAD. Since BERAD is the commercial-scale pilot system that decontaminates relatively large amount of soil, so it is difficult to test using radioactive isotopes. So important general elements such as A, B, C, and D in soil were analyzed. In the study, BERAD decontaminated soil by using water washing. And the particle size of soil was divided into a total of six particle size sections with five sieves: 4 mm, 2 mm, 0.850 mm, 0.212 mm, and 0.075 mm. Concentrations of A, B, C, and D in the soil particles larger than 4 mm are almost the lowest regardless of before and after decontamination by BERAD. For soil particles less than 4 mm, the concentrations of C and D decreased constantly after BERAD decontamination. On the other hand, the decontamination efficiency of A and B decreased as the soil particle became smaller, but the concentrations of A and B increased for the soil particle below 0.075 mm. As a result, decontamination efficiency of one cycle using BERAD for all nuclides in soil particles between 4 mm and 0.075 mm is about 45% to 65 %.

This study aimed to remove uranium (U(VI)) ions from sulfate-based acidic soil-washing effluent using the ion-exchange method. For effective ion exchange of U(VI) ions under acidic conditions, one chelate resin (Purolite S950) stable under low pH conditions and two anion-exchange resins (Ambersep 400 SO4 and 920U SO4) used in sulfuric acid leaching systems were selected. The exchange performance of the three selected ion-exchange resins for U(VI) ions was evaluated under various experimental conditions, including ion-exchange resin dosages, pH conditions, reaction times, and reaction temperatures. U(VI) ion exchange was consistent with the Langmuir model and followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. Thermodynamic experiments revealed that the U(VI) ion exchange by the ion-exchange resins is an endothermic and spontaneous process. On the other hand, U(VI) ions was effectively desorbed from the ion-exchange resins using 0.5 M H2SO4 or Na2CO3 solution. Overall, on the basis of the results of the present study, we propose that Purolite S950, Ambersep 400 SO4, and Ambersep 920U SO4 are ion-exchange resins that can be practically applied to effectively remove U(VI) ions from sulfate-based acidic soil-washing effluents.

A large amount of acidic wastewater was generated from the soil washing process. This study focuses on the capture for the radionuclide, especially cesium (Cs), in soil washing wastewater. We conducted the two-step process to reduce the amount of radioactive wastewater after soil washing using the coagulants and adsorbents in each step. We synthesized the adsorbent to capture Cs radionuclides in acidic wastewater (pH < 1). Based on the results, we found that the optimum ratio (NiFC:PAN) was 3.5:1 for the removal efficiency and strength of adsorbent. We compare the NiFC powder and NiFC-PAN for removal efficiency and separation of adsorbent after batch test, showing that the removal efficiency and separation of NiFC-PAN was lower and higher than NiFC power, respectively. We conducted the radioactive experiment to evaluate the satisfaction below release criteria (< 10 Bq·L−1, Cs), reporting that NIFC-PAN adsorbent meet the release criteria. These results showed that NiFC-PAN is promising adsorbent for Cs capture in strong acidic wastewater generated from soil washing and separation after capture process.

The purpose of this study was to effectively purify U-contaminated soil-washing effluent using a precipitation/distillation process, reuse the purified water, and self-dispose of the generated solid. The U ions in the effluent were easily removed as sediments by neutralization, and the metal sediments and suspended soils were flocculated–precipitated by polyacrylamide (PAM). The precipitate generated through the flocculation–precipitation process was completely separated into solid–liquid phases by membrane filtration (pore size < 45 μm), and Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions remaining in the effluent were removed by distillation. Even if neutralized or distilled effluent was reused for soil washing, soil decontamination performance was maintained. PAM, an organic component of the filter cake, was successfully removed by thermal decomposition without loss of metal deposits including U. The uranium concentration of the residual solids after distillation is confirmed to be less than 1 Bq·g−1, so it is expected that the self-disposal of the residual solids is possible. Therefore, the treatment method of U-contaminated soil-washing effluent using the precipitation/distillation process presented in this study can be used to effectively treat the washing waste of U-contaminated soil and self-dispose of the generated solids.

Radioactive materials emitted from nuclear accident or decommissioning cause soil contamination over wide areas. In the event of such a wide area of contaminated soil, decontamination is inevitable for residents to reside and reuse as industrial land. There are many ways to decontaminate these contaminated soils, but in urgent situations, the soil washing, which has a short process period and relatively high decontamination efficiency, is considered the most suitable. However, the soil washing process of removing fine soil and cesium by using washing liquid as water and adding a flocculating agent (J-AF) generates slurry/sludge-type secondary waste (Cs-contaminated soil + flocculating agent). Since this form of sludge contaminants cannot be disposed, solidification is needed using an appropriate solidification agent to treat wastes for disposal. Therefore, this study devised a treatment method of contaminated fine soils occurring after the soil washing process. This investigation prepared the simulated wastes of contaminated fine soils generated after the soil washing, and pelletized the samples using a roll compactor under the optimum operating conditions. The optimum conditions of the device were determined in the pre-test. Roll speed, feeding rate, and hydraulic pressure were 1.5 rpm, 25 rpm, and 28.44 MPa, respectively. The waste forms were manufactured by incorporating created pellets (H 6.5 × W 9.4 mm) using polymers as solidification agents. Used polymers were main ingredient (YD-128), hardener (G-1034), and diluent (LGE). The optimum mixing ratio was YD-128 : G-1034 = 65 : 35 phr, and LGE was added in an amount of 10wt% of the total mixture. To confirm the disposal suitability of the manufactured waste forms, characterization evaluation was carried out (compressive strength, thermal cycling, immersion, and leaching test). Characterization evaluation revealed a minimum compressive strength of 23.1 MPa, far exceeding 3.44 MPa of the disposal facility waste acceptance criteria. Compressive strength increased to the highest value of 31.90 MPa after immersion test. To examine leaching characteristics, the pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC) and leachability index (􀜮􀯜) of leachates were identified. As results, pH and EC consistently increased or remained constant with leaching time. The average of Co, Cs and Sr nuclides was 17.76, 17.38 and 14.04, respectively, exceeding the value of 6 in the waste acceptance criteria. Effective waste treatment/ disposal can be achieved without increasing volumes of sludge/slurry by enhancing the technique of this research by performing additional studies in the future.

원전사고 및 시설보수 과정에서 방출되는 방사성물질 중 137Cs은 토양의 주 오염원 중 하나이다. 세슘으로 인한 토양오염은 주민의 거주 및 공업용지로의 재사용을 위해 제염이 불가피하다. 본 연구에서는 다양한 토양복원 기술 중 국내·외에서 실 제 방사성물질로 오염된 토양에 적용한 사례가 있는 토양세척 기술을 선정하였다. 토양세척 공정은 세척제를 사용하여 토양 과 세슘의 표면장력을 약화시켜 토양과 세슘을 분리하는 원리이다. 이러한 토양세척 공정의 세척수 재사용을 통해 공정효율 을 높이고자 세척수에 응집제를 적용하여 미세토양 및 세슘의 제거 성능 실험을 수행하였다. ICP-OES를 통해 세슘 수용액 에 토양을 첨가하여 세슘을 흡착시킨 후 응집제를 첨가하여 세슘의 농도를 측정하였으며 응집제 적용시 최대 세슘 제거율은 약 88%, 최소는 67%였다. Visual MINTEQ Code를 통한 세슘과 토양과의 종결합을 예측하였으며 탁도 측정을 통해 응집제 투여 후 탁도를 측정하여 세척수의 재사용 여부 및 미세토양 제거율을 분석하였다.

원전의 정상운전이나 해체시 발생될 수 있는 토양의 제염을 위한 토양제염장치를 개발하였으며 실증 실험을 수행하였다. 제염장치를 이용한 제염실험을 종합해본 결과 제염조건에 큰 상관없이 이상의 제염율을 얻을 수 있었다. 방사능 준위 및 토양입도에 의한 실험결과를 보면 낮은 방사능 농도 및 고입도의 제염율이 다소 높음을 알 수 있었다. 제염용액과 토양질량의 비에 따른 제염율은 제염제 부피를 두배로 높였을 경우 방사능 농도가 높은 경우에 큰 것으로 나타났다. 반복 제염은 의 다소 작은 입자에 더욱 효과적으로, 제염이 어려운 작은 입자의 반복제염시 방사능 저감 효과가 비교적 크게 나타났다. 본 오염토양 제염장치를 활용하면 원전에서 발생되는 오염토양의 방사능 농도를 줄일 뿐 아니라 처분양을 줄여 저장공간의 확보에 기여할 뿐만 아니라 향후 원전의 해체시에도 유용하게 활용될 수 있으리라 생각된다.