Influence of attrition scrubbing, ultrasonic treatment, and oxidant additions on uranium removal from contaminated soils

As part of the Uranium in Soils Integrated Demonstration Project being conducted by the US Department of Energy, bench-scale investigations of selective leaching of uranium from soils at the Fernald Environmental Management Project site in Ohio were conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Two soils (storage pad soil and incinerator soil), representing the major contaminant sources at the site, were extracted using carbonate- and citric acid-based lixiviants. Physical and chemical processes were used in combination with the two extractants to increase the rate of uranium release from these soils. Attrition scrubbing and ultrasonic dispersion were the two physical processes utilized. Potassium permanganate was used as an oxidizing agent to transform tetravalent uranium to the hexavalent state. Hexavalent uranium is easily complexed in solution by the carbonate radical. Attrition scrubbing increased the rate of uranium release from both soils when compared with rotary shaking. At equivalent extraction times and solids loadings, however, attrition scrubbing proved effective only on the incinerator soil. Ultrasonic treatments on the incinerator soil removed 71% of the uranium contamination in a single extraction. Multiple extractions of the same sample removed up to 90% of the uranium. Additions of potassium permanganate to the carbonate extractant resulted in significantmore » changes in the extractability of uranium from the incinerator soil but had no effect on the storage pad soil.« less