title: Development of practical decontamination process for the removal of uranium from gravel.
abstract: In this study, a practical decontamination process was developed to remove uranium from gravel using a soil washing method. The effects of critical parameters including particle size, H2SO4concentration, temperature, and reaction time on uranium removal were evaluated. The optimal condition for two-stage washing of gravel was found to be particle size of 1-2 mm, 1.0 M H2SO4, temperature of 60°C, and reaction time of 3 h, which satisfied the required uranium concentration for self-disposal. Furthermore, most of the extracted uranium was removed from the waste solution by precipitation, implying that the treated solution can be reused as washing solution. These results clearly demonstrated that our proposed process can be indeed a practical technique to decontaminate uranium-polluted gravel.
authors.affiliation: a Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute , Daejeon , Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ilgook
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: a Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute , Daejeon , Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Gye-Nam
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: a Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute , Daejeon , Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seung-Soo
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: a Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute , Daejeon , Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jong-Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D003666:Decontamination; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D011848:Radioactive Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D014501:Uranium / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D011848:Radioactive Pollutants; D012987:Soil; D014501:Uranium
keywords: Uranium; decontamination; gravel; precipitation; soil washing