Development of a process for cesium recovery from the clarified phase of high-level waste storage tanks of the Mayak Production Association with a ferrocyanide sorbent

Abstract

Batch and column experiments on cesium recovery from the clarified waste of high-level waste storage tanks of the Mayak Production Association using FS-10 ferrocyanide sorbent were performed with model and real solutions. The ferrocyanide sorbent exhibits the required performance in cesium sorption from the solution, ensuring the reduction of the specific activity of the liquid radioactive waste to the values corresponding to intermediate-level waste. In operation in the sorption–desorption–regeneration cycle, 80% of the deposited cesium is removed with the desorbing solution, and the sorption characteristics of FS-10 are reproduced in the second cycle, which suggests the possibility of repeated use of the sorbent.