Department of Convergence Study on Ocean Science and Technology, Ocean Science and Technology (OST) School, Korea Maritime and Ocean University, Busan 49112, Korea.
Western Seoul Center, Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI), Seoul 03759, Korea.
Environ Sci Technol. 2024 Apr 9;58(14):6170-6180. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.3c10587. Epub 2024 Mar 19.
As human society has advanced, nuclear energy has provided energy security while also offering low carbon emissions and reduced dependence on fossil fuels, whereas nuclear power plants have produced large amounts of radioactive wastewater, which threatens human health and the sustainability of water resources. Here, we demonstrate a hydrate-based desalination (HBD) technology that uses methane as a hydrate former for freshwater recovery and for the removal of radioactive chemicals from wastewater, specifically from Cs- and Sr-containing wastewater. The complete exclusion of radioactive ions from solid methane hydrates was confirmed by a close examination using phase equilibria, spectroscopic investigations, thermal analyses, and theoretical calculations, enabling simultaneous freshwater recovery and the removal of radioactive chemicals from wastewater by the methane hydrate formation process described in this study. More importantly, the proposed HBD technology is applicable to radioactive wastewater containing Cs and Sr across a broad concentration range of low percentages to hundreds of parts per million (ppm) and even subppm levels, with high removal efficiency of radioactive chemicals. This study highlights the potential of environmentally sustainable technologies to address the challenges posed by radioactive wastewater generated by nuclear technology, providing new insights for future research and development efforts.
随着人类社会的进步，核能在提供能源安全的同时，还实现了低碳排放和减少对化石燃料的依赖，而核电站产生了大量的放射性废水，这威胁着人类健康和水资源的可持续性。在这里，我们展示了一种基于水合物的海水淡化（HBD）技术，该技术使用甲烷作为水合物形成剂，从废水中回收淡水并去除放射性化学物质，特别是 Cs 和 Sr 含量的废水。通过对相平衡、光谱研究、热分析和理论计算的仔细检查，证实了放射性离子完全排除在固体甲烷水合物之外，这使得通过本文所述的甲烷水合物形成过程可以同时从废水中回收淡水和去除放射性化学物质。更重要的是，所提出的 HBD 技术适用于含有 Cs 和 Sr 的放射性废水，涵盖了从低百分比到数百 ppm 甚至 subppm 浓度范围的广泛浓度范围，并且对放射性化学物质具有高去除效率。本研究强调了环境可持续技术在应对核技术产生的放射性废水所带来的挑战方面的潜力，为未来的研究和开发工作提供了新的见解。
