Removable of trace radionuclides and chemical contaminants from waste evaporator condensates by electrodialysis

The feasibility of using electrodialysis, a membrane separation process, to remove radioactive and chemical contaminants from Process Equipment Waste (PEW) evaporator condensates was evaluated with a one-hundredth scale vendor-built pilot plant. Decontamination efficiencies (DE) for nine radionuclides and six chemical contaminants were determined. Excluding plutonium, which behaved erratically, the average radionuclide DE was 96%. Nitric acid removal averaged 98%, while the average DE for mercury was 83%. To a large extent, radionuclide removal was due to sorption on the membranes. Seventy-two percent of the input radioactivity for eleven runs became sorbed on the membranes