Treatment of spent NTA-based decontamination solutions

This study deals with potential treatment of spent NTA-containing decontamination solutions for final disposal. The method proposed is based on the degradation of organic substances followed by the separation of radionuclides. The influence of various parameters (pH value, irradiation time, temperature, catalyst amount, type and various combinations of catalysts) on photocatalytic degradation of NTA has been studied. Photo-Fenton reagent (Fe³⁺/H₂O₂) as a homogenous catalyst was found to be much more efficient than the TiO₂-based heterogeneous catalyst Degussa P25. Under optimum conditions NTA in a simulant of a spent decontamination solution without or with hydrazine could be degraded within 5 or 9 hours, respectively. The study of sorption properties of a series of absorbers revealed that radiostrontium and radiosilver can be effectively removed from the simulant of a spent decontamination solution even in the presence of NTA, while total NTA degradation is necessary for effective radiocobalt separation.