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Abstract
Technetium (99Tc), produced by nuclear fission of 235U and 239Pu, is a long-term risk associated with radioactive liquid waste at U.S. Department of Energy sites. This study focused on remediating 99Tc using rhenium (Re) as a chemical analogue to avoid working with potentially dangerous radionuclides. Batch experiments were performed to assess the ability of four commercially available Fe-based materials (porous iron composite, PIC, reagent grade zero valent iron, and two Fe oxides) to immobilize Re in the presence and absence of NO3- and in oxic and anoxic environments. The PIC material was the most effective at immobilizing Re and reducing NO3- under all treatment conditions. Column experiments were carried out as well to assess the effectiveness of the PIC material under kinetically limited conditions that are analogous to a permeable reactive barrier (PRB). The PIC material immobilized Re in the absence of NO3-. When NO3- was present, Re breakthrough occurred much earlier.