Precipitated magnetite in alpha effluent treatment

Iron present as a fortuitous component of most nuclear plant effluents can be precipitated as magnetite after suitable chemical treatment. The spinel crystal lattice of the magnetite is able to incorporate a wide range of foreign ions which includes many important radioactive species. Provided the operating conditions are well chosen the precipitated magnetite provides an excellent scavenger for many radionuclides and gives a denser more granular solid product to be separated from the effluent than the more visual scavenging agent ferric hydroxide. The conditions under which magnetite can be formed by precipitation and its properties are presented and compared with those of ferric hydroxide. Because magnetite has a high magnetic susceptibility its separation by high gradient magnetic separation becomes a possibility and data relevant to this is presented. (author)