Surface facilitated degradation of tetraphenylboron (TPB) on minerals

Tetraphenylboron (TPB) will be used to precipitate radioactive 137Cs from high level nuclear waste water, at the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) which is operated by the US Department of Energy (US DOE), at the Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC. The decontaminated wastewater will contain millimolar quantities of TPB that will be processed into salt concretions. The waste processing operations will require about 3x105 kg/yr of TPB during its full scale operation. The transportation and use of large amounts of TPB can potentially result in the release of TPB into soil or aquatic environments where its degradation will take place. Previous studies have shown that TPB degrades abiotically in soils; however, the role of specific mineral surfaces in mediating the reaction kinetics and mechanisms for the abiotic degradation of TPB are not clearly known. Laboratory studies have been undertaken to evaluate the surface facilitated degradation of TPB by aluminum silicate clay minerals-kaolinite and montmorillonite. Preliminary results indicate that the rate of degradation of TPB is much higher (t1/2 4 hours) in kaolinite -- a single layer mineral -- than in montmorillonite (t1/2 6 days) -- a double layer mineral -- and Orangeburg loamy soil. The initial products of TPB degradation in both minerals are diphenylboric acid (DPBA) and biphenyl. However, HPLC monitoring of degradation products of TPB in montmorillonite appears to indicate the presence of phenol and monophenylborinic acid (MPBA)