• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.155-164
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• 2013

The main purpose of this research was to examine the adsorption/ion exchange characteristics of radioactive species such as cesium and strontium onto synthetic Na-birnessite (sodium-birnessite). As part of efforts to investigate the sorption behavior of cesium and strontium onto synthetic Na-birnessite, batch isotherm tests were performed under different experimental conditions. Na-birnessite was synthesized by the oxidation of $Mn^{2+}$ ions in sodium hydroxide solution. The synthetic Na-birnessite was characterized by powder x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis. Cesium and strontium concentrations were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The removal efficiency of strontium by Na-birnessite was around 95 % which was much higher than that of cesium (~ 32 %). The results imply that strontium has a higher affinity for Na-birnessite than cesium because strontium, divalent cation leads to larger electrostatic attraction than monovalent cesium.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2017

For the removal of cesium (Cs) from high radioactive/high salt-laden liquid waste, this study synthesized a highly efficient composite adsorbent (potassium cobalt ferrocyanide (PCFC)-loaded chabazite (CHA)) and evaluated its applicability. The composite adsorbent used CHA, which could accommodate Cs as well as other molecules, as a supporting material and was synthesized by immobilizing the PCFC in the pores of CHA through stepwise impregnation/precipitation with $CoCl_2$ and $K_4Fe(CN)_6$ solutions. When CHA, with average particle size of more than $10{\mu}m$, is used in synthesizing the composite adsorbent, the PCFC particles were immobilized in a stable form. Also, the physical stability of the composite adsorbent was improved by optimizing the washing methodology to increase the purity of the composite adsorbent during the synthesis. The composite adsorbent obtained from the optimal synthesis showed a high adsorption rate of Cs in both fresh water (salt-free condition) and seawater (high-salt condition), and had a relatively high value of distribution coefficient (larger than $10^4mL{\cdot}g^{-1}$) regardless of the salt concentration. Therefore, the composite adsorbent synthesized in this study is an optimized material considering both the high selectivity of PCFC on Cs and the physical stability of CHA. It is proved that this composite adsorbent can remove rapidly Cs contained in high radioactive/high salt-laden liquid waste with high efficiency.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.123-130
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• 2019

We investigated the electrochemical behavior of an electrode coated with a nickel hexacyanoferrate/graphene oxide (NiPB/GO) composite to evaluate its potential use for the electrochemical separation of radioactive Cs as a promising approach for reducing secondary Cs waste after decontamination. The NiPB/GO-modified electrode showed electrochemically switched ion exchange capability with excellent selectivity for Cs over other alkali metals. Furthermore, the repetitive ion insertion and desertion test for assessing the electrode stability showed that the electrochemical ion exchange capacity of the NiPB/GO-modified electrode increased further with potential cycling in 1 M of $NaNO_3$. In particular, this electrochemical treatment enhanced Cs uptake by nearly two times compared to that of NiPB/GO and still retained the ion selectivity of NiPB, suggesting that the electrochemically treated NiPB/GO composite shows promise for nuclear wastewater treatment.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.145-153
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• 2004

H$_2$SO$_4$ and citric acid were used as additives for the electrokinetic remediation experiment to increase removal efficiency of $^{137}$ Cs and $^{60}$ Co from the radioactive soil waste stored for more than 10 years. The average effluent velocity discharged from the elctrokinectic remediation experimental column was 2.0${\times}$10$^{-2}$ cm/min and the discharged soil wastewater volume for 10 days is 3.6 pore volume of the column. 97% of $^{60}$ Co in the column was decontaminated for 10 days of operation, while only 54% of $^{137}$ Cs was decontaminated. These results are considered that the absorption equilibrium coefficient of $^{137}$ Cs is higher than that of $^{60}$ Co. The predicted values of the residual concentration by the proposed mathematical model were well coincided with the experimental results within the experimental error range

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.562-571
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• 2003

A series of factors such as sampling, pretreatment measurement, volume estimation which induces uncertainty of the calculated radioactivity in liquid effluent released from a nuclear power plant were analyzed. It is innately impossible to estimate exact error of the calculated radioactivity, since most of the input parameters are determined by a single measurement and true value of the released radioactivity cannot be known. In this paper, a systematic model to calculate uncertainty of the released liquid radioactivity was developed based upon the guidance report published by the ISO in 1993, and the model was applied to a set of hypothetical batch release conditions. As a result, the Priority of each input parameter was turned out to be (1) wastewater volume, (2) sample volume, and (3) measured radioactivity of the sample. In addition, probability distribution of the released radioactivity was simulated by Monte Carlo method combining the probability distribution of each input parameter It was shown that the radioactivity released to the environment, which has been reported as a single value, has a certain form of probability distribution.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.395-408
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• 2018

Even after the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, the rate of production of electric energy using nuclear energy is increasing, but there is a great danger such as the radioactive waste produced when using nuclear power, the catastrophic accident of nuclear power plant, and connection with nuclear weapons. In particular, Cs present in the ionic form of alkaline elements has a long half-life (30.17 years) because it is readily absorbed by the organism and emits intense gamma rays, thus presenting a serious radiation hazard. Therefore, it must be completely removed before it can be released into the natural ecosystem, because it can adversely affect not only humans but also natural ecosystems. Many adsorbents and ion exchangers which have high Cs removal efficiency have been used in recent years to completely separate and remove by self separation in water. Many adsorbents and ion exchangers which have high Cs removal efficiency have been used in recent years to completely separate and remove by self separation in water. In addition, researches have been doing to synthesize magnetic materials with adsorbents such as HCF and PB, and it shows a great effect in the removal rate of Cs present in wastewater or the maximum Cs adsorption amount. In particular, when a magnetic material was applied, excellent results were obtained in which only Cs was selectively removed from other cations. However, new problems such as applicability in the sea where Cs is directly released, applicability in various pH ranges, and failure to preserve the magnetizing force possessed by the magnetic body have been found. However, researches using ferromagnetic field with stronger magnetic properties than those of magnetic bodies is considered to be insufficient. Therefore, it is considered that if the researches combining the ferromagnetic field with the magnetization ability and functional adsorbents more actively, the radioactive material Cs which adversely affects the natural ecosystem can be effectively removed.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.193-198
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• 2013

In general, boron recovery of 40-90% could be achieved by Reverse Osmosis (RO) membranes in neutral pH condition. As an emerging technology, Forward Osmosis (FO) membrane has attracted growing interest in wastewater treatment and desalination. The objective of this study is to evaluate the possibility of the boron removal in radioactive liquid waste by FO. In this study, the performance of FO was investigated to remove boron in the simulated liquid waste as the factors such as pH, osmotic pressure, ionic strength of solution, etc. The pH of feed solution is a major operating parameter which strongly influences to the permeation of boron and more than 80% of boron content can be separated when conducted at pH values less than 7. The water flux is not influenced but the boron flux and permeation rate tends to decrease in the low salt concentration of 1,000 mg/L. The boron flux increases linearly, but the permeation ratio of reducing boron is nearly constant even with changes in the draw solution concentration.

• Advances in environmental research
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.245-260
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• 2013

Biosorption represents a technological innovation as well as a cost effective excellent remediation technology for cleaning up radionuclides from aqueous environment. In the present study, a bacteria strain FB12 with high adsorption rate of uranium ion was isolated from the vicinity of the nuclear power plant. It was tentatively identified as Bacillus sp.FB12 according to the 16S rDNA sequencing. Efforts were made to further improve the adsorption rate and genetic stability by UV irradiation and UV-LiCl cooperative mutagenesis. The improved strain named Bacillus sp.UV32 obtains excellent genetic stability and a high adsorption rate of 95.9%. The adsorption of uranium U (VI) by Bacillus sp.UV32 from aqueous solution was examined as a function of metal ion concentration, cell concentration, adsorption time, pH, temperature, and the presence of some foreign ions. The adsorption process of U (VI) was found to follow the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation. The adsorption isotherm study indicated that it preferably followed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The thermodynamic parameters values calculated clearly indicated that the adsorption process was feasible, spontaneous and endothermic in nature. These properties show that Bacillus sp.UV32 has potential application in the removal of uranium (VI) from the radioactive wastewater.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.80-85
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• 2021

Radionuclides, particularly radioactive cesium (Cs), are a concern of human health in some nuclear power accidents. It could lead to a high level of intracellular accumulation due to its high radioactivity and long half-life. Therefore, it is imperative to develop a method to remove Cs from wastewater. Herein, we synthesized activated carbon fibers (ACFs) doped with Prussian blue (PB) via in situ methods. We classified samples by their preparation method as either physical (PB-ACF-A) or physicochemical (PB-ACF-B) syntheses for comparison. The PB-ACF-B sample showed a significant surface loss compared to PB-ACF-A but a better ¹³³Cs adsorption capacity. All samples fit well to Langmuir isotherms and the values of qmax were directly correlated to the amount of PB on the surface of the ACFs. Adsorption characteristics were further confirmed by the calculated free energy, enthalpy, and entropy.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.341-352
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• 2017

Along with Cs-137 (half-life: 30.17 years), Sr-90 (half-life: 28.8 years) is one of the most important environmental monitoring radioactive elements. Rapid and easy monitoring method for Sr-90 using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) has been studied. Strontium belongs to a bivalent alkaline earth metal such as calcium and has similar electron arrangement and size. Due to these similar chemical properties, it can easily enter into the human body through the food chain via water, soil, and crops when leaked into the environment. In addition, it is immersed into the bone at the case of human influx and causes the toxicity for a long time (biological half-life: about 50 years). It is a very reductive and related with the specific reaction that makes wet analysis difficult. In particular, radioactive strontium should be monitored by nuclear power plants but it is very difficult to be analysed from high-cost problems as well as low accuracy of analysis due to complicated analysis procedures, expensive analysis equipment, and a pretreatment process of using massive chemicals. Therefore, we introduce the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) analysis method that analyzes the elements in the sample using the inherent spectrum by generating plasma on the sample using pulse energy, and it can be analyzed in a few seconds without preprocessing. A variety of analytical plates for samples were developed to improve the analytical sensitivity by optimizing the laser, wavelength, and time resolution. This can be effectively applied to real-time monitoring of radioactive wastewater discharged from a nuclear power plant, and furthermore, it can be applied as an emergency monitoring means such as possible future accidents at a nuclear power plants.