Development of technology to reduce environmental problems via innovative water purification agents

在这个项目中，我们的目标是开发新的材料，用于放射性锶-90的选择性去除和长期封存。在日本，这对帮助福岛第一核电站周围的清理活动以及在英国帮助清理塞拉菲尔德核电站和其他地方的遗留废物具有重要意义。尽管存在从受污染的水中去除锶-90的材料，但它们都有一定的局限性和/或成本较高，因此，旨在制造新的和改进的材料的基础研究是合理的。理想的吸附剂对锶-90有较高的选择性，在较大的pH值范围内稳定有效，对锶-90有良好的吸附容量，可重复使用，易于以低成本批量生产，并且在停止使用后有一条简单而可靠的途径获得安全和稳定的废物形式。我们的目标材料是在日本(新州大学和东北大学)已经完成的初步合成工作的基础上，有可能满足所有这些标准的材料，英国的基本研究支持对材料工作原理的表征和理解(钻石光源)，以及使用后产生的废物形式(谢菲尔德大学)。

In this project we aim to develop new materials for the selective removal and long-term sequestration of radioactive Sr-90. This is of importance in Japan to help in the clean-up activities around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and in the UK to help in the clean-up of legacy waste at the Sellafield site and elsewhere. Although materials exist for removing Sr-90 from contaminated water, all have some limitations and/or high cost and therefore basic research aimed towards making new and improved materials is justified. The ideal adsorbent would be highly selective for Sr-90 in the presence of larger amounts of competitive cations (e.g. Ca, Mg, Na or K), be stable and effective over a large pH range, have a good capacity for Sr-90, be reusable, be easily made in bulk at low cost and have a simple and proven route to a safe and stable wasteform after its end of use. We target materials that have the potential to fulfil all of these criteria based on preliminary synthesis work already done in Japan (Shinshu and Tohuku Universities) with essential research in the UK supporting the characterisation and understanding of how the materials work (Diamond Light Source) and the production of wasteforms after use (University of Sheffield).