Study of element sorption on insoluble materials from complex liquid media

The studies of the U adherence on insoluble beds from dispersion systems prepared by using U chemical compounds p.a. were extended to complex liquid systems, specific to industrial processes. A technology for the recovery or/and decontamination of U from the dispersion systems was developed. It is based on a forced aggregation of the dispersed phase which contains the investigated element, in this case U, and on the sorption of the aggregates on the insoluble organic beds. The technology was applied for U recovery from pure dispersion systems. In the case of a U complex system or media, the aggregation and sorption of the dispersed phase is quite different, so that these processes must be investigated for this real case. A medium or system is considered complex either by its complex dispersed phase or by complex liquids in which the phase is dispersed. This is a real case in the industry. Our research in progress refers to fissile elements, particularly U, contained in the dispersed phase of the complex liquid media. The aggregation and sorption of the dispersed phase including U are the chemical and/or the physical processes which take place at atomic and molecular level and therefore, these processes require accurate and sensitive analysis method. The track detection methods used by us meet these requirements. The alpha and fission track methods, by track micro-mapping technique, allow the visualization of distributions of the U atoms in the samples analyzed. Our researches using U complex liquid media will include the study of the following physical and chemical processes: - the sorption and desorption of U in the condition of continuously industrial fluxes; - the increase of sorption efficiency by forced change of the aggregation states; - the increase of sorption efficiency under action of physical and chemical factors on insoluble beds. (authors)