Publication: Pretreatment of radioactive concentrate from leadbismuth cooled fast reactors: flocculant screening and process optimization
Дата
2026
Авторы
Peng, S.
Wang, D.
Li, S.
Li, J.
Xie, H.
Journal Title
Nuclear Energy and Technology (NUCET)
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Nuclear Energy and Technology (NUCET)
Издатель
НИЯУ МИФИ
Аннотация
The processing of radioactive concentrates generated during the operation of lead bismuth fast reactors is extremely difficult, with complex components including heavy metals such as Pb and Bi, radioactive nuclides such as Cs, Sr, and Co, alpha emitters such as 210-Po, as well as organic matter and suspended particles. This study focuses on the pretreatment challenges of this radioactive liquid waste, systematically screening 13 types of mature commercial flocculants and evaluating their efficiency in the flocculative removal of key heavy metals and simulated radionuclides from the concentrate. The experimental results showed that the flocculant #9 had a removal efficiency of over 99% for Pb, Bi, and Co within 20 minutes, and a removal efficiency of 96% for the 210-Po analog element Te. The effluent pH was close to neutral, which was superior to other reagents. Through optimization via single-factor experiments and Response Surface Methodology, the optimal process parameters for flocculant #9 were determined as follows: pH 7.8, dosage of 1.17 g/L, and flocculation time of 15.9 minutes. This study provides an efficient and low-cost pretreatment process for radioactive concentrate from lead-bismuth reactors, which can significantly reduce the subsequent deep purification load of 21°Po and offers technical support for the optimization of nuclear waste liquid treatment processes.
Описание
Ключевые слова
Lead-bismuth reactor , Response surface methodology (RSM) , Process optimization , Heavy metals , Flocculation sedimentation , Fission products
Цитирование
Peng S, Wang D, Li S, Li J, Xie H (2026) Pretreatment of radioactive concentrate from lead-bismuth cooled fast reactors: flocculant screening and process optimization. Nuclear Energy and Technology 12(1): 29-39.https://doi.org/10.3897/nucet.12.173459