Electrokinetic Separation for Enhanced Decontamination of Soils and Groundwater Systems

安全管理第一代核电的遗产，减少核风险和危害，近年来已成为英国和韩国核工业的优先事项，因为在过渡时期，缩减规模继续向“新核”过渡。英国核退役管理局（NDA）估计，在未来120年内，第一代核电站退役的总成本将达到1220亿英镑，其中包括与乏燃料和遗留废物管理相关的重大成本。但是，也作出了大量努力，以便在下一次计划使用之前对场址进行补救。修复土壤和地下水极具挑战性，因为在环境中遇到的放射性核素污染物含量很低，而且它们与粘土有很强的联系，因此对受污染的土壤进行简单的洗涤是不够的。福岛第一核电站事故发生后，大量的土壤被移走并储存在临时设施中，这突出了成功修复的挑战。不鼓励对生态系统造成实质性的干扰，并大力支持就地修复土壤和地下水的方法。拟议的研究将考虑通过化学增强的电动分离来从难处理的粘土类型中解吸Cs和Sr的原位修复。将探索使用非离子、可生物降解聚合物进行化学处理，作为扩大粘土中间层和回收被“困”在粘土颗粒中的离子的方法。一旦被解吸，移动离子应被回收以防止其迁移。我们在韩国科学技术院（KAIST）的合作伙伴将设计新型吸附剂，通过电化学分离和二维合成复合膜的吸附，在阴极隔离离子，这种复合膜对选定的离子不渗透，从而提供快速的吸附动力学和高吸附容量。该研究将促进对从不同粘土类型中解吸离子的适当方法的理解，并成功捕获移动离子，局部集中污染物并减少最终处理的废物体积。随着退役计划的推进，土壤和地下水系统的修复将成为重点。安装原位技术可以达到高去污水平，需要最少的工程支持，并且不会对当地生态系统造成长期损害，这是非常理想的，并且有可能加快修复时间尺度并降低退役遗留核设施的整个生命周期成本。最后，英韩的国际合作和行业伙伴关系有机会增强公众对核部门的信心，与未来的工程师和公众接触，他们将见证核部门从“维护和维护”转向积极地将遗留场址恢复到理想的最终状态，同时增加“新核”并将废物转移到地质处置设施的最终目的地。

Safely managing the legacy of first generation nuclear power, reducing nuclear risks and hazards, has in recent years become a priority for the nuclear industry both in the UK and Republic of Korea (ROK) as downscaling continues in the interim to 'new nuclear'. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA, UK) estimate the total cost of decommissioning first generation nuclear power to be £121 B over the next 120 years, with significant costs associated to the management of spent fuel and legacy wastes. However, substantial effort is also directed towards remediating sites prior to their next planned use. Remediating soils and groundwater is extremely challenging due to the low-levels of radionuclide contaminants encountered in the environment and their strong association with clays, rendering simple washing of contaminated soils inadequate. The challenge to successfully remediate is pointedly highlighted by the vast quantities of soils which have now been removed and stored at interim facilities following the incident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Substantial disturbance to the ecosystem is discouraged and methods to remediate soils and groundwater in-situ are highly favored. The proposed research will consider in-situ remediation by chemical-enhanced electrokinetic separation to desorb Cs and Sr from difficult clay types. Chemical treatment using non-ionic, biodegradable polymers will be explored as a method to expand clay interlayers and recover ions which have become 'trapped' in clay particles. Once desorbed the mobile ions should be recovered to prevent their migration. Our partners at KAIST, ROK will design novel adsorbents to isolate ions at the cathode via electrochemical separation and by adsorption using 2D fabricated composite membranes that are impermeable to the selected ions to deliver rapid sorption kinetics and high adsorption capacity. The research will advance understanding on appropriate methods to desorb ions from different clay types and successfully capture mobile ions, locally concentrating the contaminants and reducing the volume of waste for ultimate disposal. As decommissioning programs advance, remediation of soils and groundwater systems will come into focus. Installing in-situ technologies which can achieve high decontamination levels, require minimal engineering support, and do not cause long-term damage to the local ecosystem are highly desired and have the potential to accelerate remediation timescales and reduce the full lifetime costs of decommissioning legacy nuclear sites. Finally, the UK-ROK international collaboration and industry partnership has an opportunity to enhance public confidence in the nuclear sector, engaging with future engineers and the general public who will witness a nuclear sector moving away from 'care and maintenance' to actively returning legacy sites to their desired end-state, all at the same time as growing 'new nuclear' and moving waste to its ultimate destination in a geological disposal facility.