Performance evaluation of 24 ion exchange materials for removing cesium and strontium from actual and simulated N-Reactor storage basin water

This report describes the evaluation of 24 organic and inorganic ion exchange materials for removing cesium and strontium from actual and simulated waters from the 100 Area 105 N-Reactor fuel storage basin. The data described in this report can be applied for developing and evaluating ion exchange pre-treatment process flowsheets. Cesium and strontium batch distribution ratios (K{sub d}`s), decontamination factors (DF), and material loadings (mmol g{sup -1}) are compared as a function of ion exchange material and initial cesium concentration. The actual and simulated N-Basin waters contain relatively low levels of aluminum, barium, calcium, potassium, and magnesium (ranging from 8.33E-04 to 6.40E-05 M), with slightly higher levels of boron (6.63E-03 M) and sodium (1.62E-03 M). The {sup 137}Cs level is 1.74E-06 Ci L-{sup 1} which corresponds to approximately 4.87E-10 M Cs. The initial Na/Cs ratio was 3.33E+06. The concentration of total strontium is 4.45E-06 M, while the {sup 90}Sr radioactive component was measured to be 6.13E-06 Ci L{sup -1}. Simulant tests were conducted by contacting 0.067 g or each ion exchange material with approximately 100 mL of either the actual or simulated N-Basin water. The simulants contained variable initial cesium concentrations ranging from 1.00E-04 to 2.57E- 10 M Cs while all other components were held constant. For all materials, the average cesium K{sub d} was independent of cesium concentration below approximately 1.0E-06 M. Above this level, the average cesium K{sub d} values decreased significantly. Cesium K{sub d} values exceeding 1.0E+07 mL g{sup -1} were measured in the simulated N-Basin water. However, when measured in the actual N-Basin water the values were several orders of magnitude lower, with a maximum of 1.24E+05 mL g{sup -1} observed.