New mineral methods remove radioactive technetium from waste
Researchers at The University of Manchester and partners developed methods to lock radioactive technetium into stable minerals for safer nuclear cleanup.
Scientists created a technique using layered double hydroxides to capture dissolved technetium from liquid waste streams effectively. This process transforms the mobile contaminant into a less mobile form that stays fixed within the engineered mineral structure.
Advanced analysis at the Diamond Light Source confirmed technetium becomes incorporated directly into the octahedral layers of the new mineral material. Over 99% of the contaminant was eliminated even when concentrations were very high.
A second study adapted nuclear medicine technology to capture technetium in contaminated groundwater systems using phosphate minerals. The team found methylene diphosphonic acid could form soluble complexes allowing efficient capture by hydroxyapatite under realistic flowing conditions.
Independent experiments demonstrated hydroxyapatite captured nearly all of the technetium complex from solution while microbes helped generate the necessary complex. These findings demonstrate new ways of immobilizing technetium in stable minerals for long-term environmental safety and cleanup.