FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF MODIFIED MONOSODIUM TITANATE, AN IMPROVED SORBENT FOR PRETREATMENT OF HIGH LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTE AT THE SAVANNAH RIVER SITE

High-level nuclear waste produced from fuel reprocessing operations at the Savannah River Site (SRS) requires pretreatment to remove Cs-137, Sr-90, and alpha-emitting radionuclides (i.e., actinides) prior to disposal onsite as low level waste. Separation processes planned at SRS include caustic side solvent extraction, for Cs-137 removal, and sorption of Sr-90 and alpha-emitting radionuclides onto monosodium titanate (MST). The predominant alpha-emitting radionuclides in the highly alkaline waste solutions include plutonium isotopes Pu-238, Pu-239, and Pu-240. This paper describes recent results from the development of an improved titanate material that exhibits increased removal kinetics and effective capacity for Sr-90 and alpha-emitting radionuclides compared to the baseline MST material