Identification of efficient chelating acids responsible for Cesium, Strontium and Barium complexes solubilization in mixed wastes

The present paper is focused to characterize the available multi dentate ligand species and their metal ion complexes of cesium (Cs), strontium (Sr) and barium (Ba) formed with the parent chelators, complexing agents and its fragment products in mixed waste filtrate. The developed separation programs of different ligands by different mobile phases were based on the decrease of the effective charge of the anionic species in a differentiated way hence, the retention times on the stationary phases (AS-4A and AS-12A) are changed. Ion chromatographic (IC) analysis of the metal complexes showed that the carboxylic acids that are responsible for solubilizing Cs, Sr and Ba in the waste filtrate are NTA, Citrate and PDCA, respectively. Therefore, the predominant metal complexes in the filtrate at high ph are Cs (I)-NTA, Sr (IT)-Citrate and Ba (IT)-PDCA. Identification of the metal ion complexes responsible for solubilizing Cs, Sr and Ba was applied on the fresh and aged waste filtrates, to monitor their chemical behavior, which leads to increased control of the waste treatment process. Although, concentration measurements of both fresh and aged filtrates confirmed that the degradation process has occurred mainly due to a harsh chemical environment, the concentration of Cs(I), Sr(II) and Ba(II) increased slightly in the aged filterate compared with the fresh filtrate. This is due to the decomposition and/or degradation of their metal complexes and hence leads to free metal ion species in the filtrate. These observations indicate that the organic content of mixed waste filtrate is dynamic and need continuous analytical monitoring