POTENTIAL USE OF ACTIVATED CARBON TO RECOVER TC-99 FROM 200 WEST AREA GROUNDWATER AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO MORE EXPENSIVE RESINS HANFORD SITE RICHLAND WASNINGTON
Recent treatability testing performed on groundwater at the 200-ZP-1 Operable Unit at the Hanford Site in Richland, Washington, has shown that Purolite{reg_sign} A530E resin very effectively removes Tc-99 from groundwater. However, this resin is expensive and cannot be regenerated. In an effort to find a less expensive method for removing Tc-99 from the groundwater, a literature search was performed. The results indicated that activated carbon may be used to recover technetium (as pertechnetate, TCO{sub 4}{sup -}) from groundwater. Oak Ridge National Laboratory used activated carbon in both batch adsorption and column leaching studies. The adsorption study concluded that activated carbon absorbs TCO{sub 4}{sup -} selectively and effectively over a wide range of pH values and from various dilute electrolyte solutions (< 0.01 molarity). The column leaching studies confirmed a high adsorption capacity and selectivity of activated carbon for TCO{sub 4}{sup -}. Since activated carbon is much less expensive than Purolite A530E resin, it has been determined that a more extensive literature search is warranted to determine if recent studies have reached similar conclusions, and, if so, pilot testing of 200-ZP-1 groundwater wi11 likely be implemented. It is possible that less expensive, activated carbon canisters could be used as pre-filters to remove Tc-99, followed by the use of the more expensive Purolite A530E resin as a polishing step
