Strontium and Actinides Removal from Savannah River Site Actual Waste Samples by Freshly Precipitated Manganese Oxide

The authors investigated the performance of freshly precipitated manganese oxide and monosodium titanate (MST) for the removal of strontium (Sr) and actinides from actual high-level waste. Manganese oxide precipitation occurs upon addition of a reductant such as formate (HCO2-) or peroxide (H2O2) to a waste solution containing permanganate (MnO4-). An addition of non-radioactive strontium typically precedes the MnO4- and reductant addition, which serves primarily to isotopically dilute the strontium-90 (90Sr) present in the waste. Tests utilized a Tank 37H/44F composite waste solution. Personnel significantly increased the concentration of actinides in the waste by the addition of acidic americium/curium solution (F-Canyon Tank 17.1 solution), which contained a significant quantity of plutonium (Pu), and neptunium-237 (237Np) stock solution. Initial tests examined three manganese oxide treatment options