Uranium removal from soils [electronic resource] : An overview from the Uranium in Soils Integrated Demonstration program

Published: Washington, D.C. : United States. Dept. of Energy, 1994.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy.
Physical Description: 13 pages : digital, PDF file
Additional Creators: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, United States. Department of Energy, and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information

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Summary

An integrated approach to remove uranium from uranium-contaminated soils is being conducted by four of the US Department of Energy national laboratories. In this approach, managed through the Uranium in Soils Integrated Demonstration program at the Fernald Environmental Management Project, Fernald, Ohio, these laboratories are developing processes that selectively remove uranium from soil without seriously degrading the soil`s physicochemical characteristics or generating waste that is difficult to manage or dispose of. These processes include traditional uranium extractions that use carbonate as well as some nontraditional extraction techniques that use citric acid and complex organic chelating agents such as naturally occurring microbial siderophores. A bench-scale engineering design for heap leaching; a process that uses carbonate leaching media shows that >90% of the uranium can be removed from the Fernald soils. Other work involves amending soils with cultures of sulfur and ferrous oxidizing microbes or cultures of fungi whose role is to generate mycorrhiza that excrete strong complexers for uranium. Aqueous biphasic extraction, a physical separation technology, is also being evaluated because of its ability to segregate fine particulate, a fundamental requirement for soils containing high levels of silt and clay. Interactions among participating scientists have produced some significant progress not only in evaluating the feasibility of uranium removal but also in understanding some important technical aspects of the task.

Report Numbers

E 1.99:conf-940225--121
conf-940225--121

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Note

Published through SciTech Connect.
09/01/1994.
"conf-940225--121"
"DE94017705"
Waste management `94: working towards a cleaner environment,Tucson, AZ (United States),27 Feb - 3 Mar 1994.
Francis, C.W.; York, D.A.; Chaiko, D.J.; Brainard, J.R.; Matthern, G.

Funding Information

AC05-84OR21400

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