Development of a treatment process and immobilization method for the volume reduction of uranium-bearing spent catalysts for final disposal

The uranium catalyst had been used in several industrial fields. The spent uranium catalyst became problematic radioactive waste awaiting a management strategy for the final disposal. This work studies a process to greatly reduce the volume of a spent uranium catalyst waste and the generation of a suitable waste form for final disposal. The process consists of several steps such as selective dissolution of the SiO₂ catalyst support, precipitation of dissolved silicon followed by its purification for release, treatment of uranium-laden wastewater generated during the process, and immobilization of the final uranium-bearing wastes for disposal. Based on bench scale-level experiments, the process was confirmed to be effective to reduce the volume of the uranium catalyst waste. The final volume reduction yield obtained in this work was over 80% from the volume of the initial uranium catalyst waste. The radioactivity of the secondary wastes, namely, the recovered silica and effluent generated from the process, was confirmed to be sufficiently managed for clearance with meeting the discharge criteria in Korea. The process could achieve the maximum volume reduction of the uranium catalyst waste to be transferred to a disposal site, with the by-products from the process being released, meeting discharge criteria in view of both nuclear and non-nuclear environmental regulations. (author)