• Resources Recycling
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.20-25
• /
• 2022

In this study, the applicability of microalgae was evaluated for eco-friendly decontamination of cesium-137 (Cs-137) and strontium-90 (Sr-90), which are radioactive nuclides contained in radioactive waste. The monolithic radioactive solution used in the experiment was manufactured at a concentration of 1.5 Bq/mL Cs-137 and 1.0 Bq/mL Sr-90 by diluting a standard radioactive solution and distilled water. This experiment used two types of microalgae, Chlorella Vulgaris was used for Sr-90 decontamination and Hematococcus pluvialis for Cs-137 decontamination. The experimental method is to put the microalgae cultured for 2 weeks into a bottle with a semi-permeable membrane, and then put the bottle in which the microalgae was put into the manufactured radioactive solution, so that the microalgae and the radioactive solution react through the semi-permeable membrane for 48 hours. For the radioactivity concentration analysis of each sample, a gamma-ray nuclide analyzer was used for Cs-137, a γ-ray isotope, and a Liquid Scintillation Count(LSC) was used f or Sr-90, a β-ray isotope. As a result of the experiment, it was confirmed that about 88.0 % of Cs-137 and about 89.7 % of Sr-90 could be decontaminated, and about 98.6 % of Sr-90 was finally able to be decontaminated by the two-stage decontamination method.

• Clean Technology
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.375-382
• /
• 2014

This work investigated the plasma-catalytic decomposition of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and the behavior of the byproduct compounds over monolith-supported metal oxide catalysts. Iron oxide ($Fe_2O_3$) or copper oxide (CuO) was loaded on a monolithic porous ${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ support, which was placed inside the coaxial electrodes of plasma reactor. The IPA decomposition efficiency itself hardly depended on the presence and type of metal oxides because the rate of plasma-induced decomposition was so fast, but the behavior of byproduct formation was largely affected by them. The concentrations of the unwanted byproducts, including acetone, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, methane, carbon monoxide, etc., were in order of $Fe_2O_3/{\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ < $CuO/{\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ < ${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ from low to high. Under the condition (flow rate: $1L\;min^{-1}$; IPA concentration: 5,000 ppm; $O_2$ content: 10%; discharge power: 47 W), the selectivity towards $CO_2$ was about 40, 80 and 95% for ${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$, $CuO/{\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ and $Fe_2O_3/{\alpha}-Al_2O_3$, respectively, indicating that $Fe_2O_3/{\alpha}-Al_2O_3$ is the most effective for plasma-catalytic oxidation of IPA. Unlike plasma-alone processes in which tar-like products formed from volatile organic compounds are deposited, the present plasma-catalyst hybrid system did not exhibit such a phenomenon, thus retaining the original catalytic activity.