Removal of ionic and colloidal 110 mAg from radioactive wastewater using radiografted chelating adsorbents.

This research investigates the performance of new radiografted materials as adsorbents for ionic and colloidal ^{110 m}Ag, a prominent pollutant in pressurized water reactor (PWR) wastewater. A comparative analysis was conducted to evaluate their effectiveness against commercially available resins. Due to the increasing demand for new nuclear power plants and the growing global dependence on nuclear energy, it is crucial to minimize radioactive waste production. The study was conducted on simulated inactive and radioactive waste samples with trace amounts of ^{110 m}Ag that are hard or impossible to detect by standard analytic techniques. The synthesized materials were labeled PGE (amine functional groups) and PGM (sulfhydryl and amine functional groups). Functionalization with amine and sulfhydryl groups was chosen since it is well known that these groups strongly interact with Ag in both ionic and colloidal form. The tested materials demonstrate exceptional performance as adsorbents by completely removing (100 %) both ionic (PGM) and colloidal (PGE) forms of ^{110 m}Ag. Additionally, depending on the adsorbed species excellent elution of ^{110 m}Ag was achieved (>94 % for ions and >50 % for colloids) implying possible material reusability. Manufacturing cost of such adsorbents is orders of magnitude lower per kg (10 – 50 $/kg), compared to prices of commercial resins (100 – 10000 $/kg). These results indicate that such inexpensive materials could potentially be used in an efficient and selective way to treat PWR wastewater for ^{110 m}Ag contamination while reducing the operating cost and minimizing resulting solid waste. [Display omitted] • Radiografted materials (PGM/PGE) allow complete ^{110 m}Ag removal from simulated nuclear wastewater samples. • Total adsorption of colloidal ^{110 m}Ag (100 %) is achieved, in contrast to standardly applied processing techniques (> 98 %). • Inexpensive production, robustness and potential reusability compared to commercial resins. • Reduction in solid waste production and complete mitigation of ^{110 m}Ag environmental contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]