Characterization of Modified Monosodium Titanate - An Improved Sorbent for Strontium and Actinide Separations

High-level nuclear waste produced from fuel reprocessing operations at the Savannah River Site requires pretreatment to remove 134,137Cs, 90Sr, and alpha-emitting radionuclides (i.e., actinides) prior to disposal onsite as low level waste. An inorganic sorbent, monosodium titanate, is currently used to remove 90Sr and alpha-emitting radionuclides, while a caustic-side solvent extraction process is used for removing 134,137Cs. A new peroxotitanate material has recently been developed and has shown increased removal kinetics and capacity for 90Sr and alpha-emitting radionuclides compared to the current baseline material. This article describes recent results focused on further characterization of this material.