New Crystal Clears 96% of Radioactive Ions in Nuclear Waste

According to the report of the American Physicist Organization Network on March 21 (Beijing time), although the cost of storing nuclear waste is very high, the stored nuclear waste may leak out and cause environmental pollution. A crystalline compound recently developed by US scientists can remove radioactive ions from nuclear waste, clearing the way for nuclear waste to “transform” clean fuels.

The crystal compound is named as Notre Dame University Boron Niobium-1 (NDTB-1), which was developed by a research team led by Thomas Albrecht-Schmidt, professor of urban engineering and geographic science at the University of Notre Dame and professor of chemistry and biochemistry. Made. Experiments show that the compound can safely absorb radioactive ions in nuclear waste. Once these radioactive particles are captured, they can be exchanged with materials of the same size and with more charge, recycling the nuclear waste.

Albrett-Schmidt said: "The structure of NDTB-1 is the key to its ability to recycle nuclear waste. Each crystal contains channels and cages with billions of tiny pores on these channels and cages. This makes it possible to exchange the anions of chromates and perrhenates used in environmental waste, especially in the nuclear industry."

The radionuclide technetium-99 (99Tc) is present at most nuclear waste storage sites around the world. There are currently about 436 nuclear power plants in 30 countries around the world. Therefore, there are many nuclear wastes generated. In fact, from 1943 to 2000, the 99Tc generated by nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons testing around the world was about 305 tons. For decades, how to safely store it has plagued scientists.

The Albright-Schmidt team has been successful in the laboratory. They have used NDTB-1 crystals to remove almost 96% of 99Tc in nuclear waste; experiments at the Savannah River National Laboratory have also been successful. It shows that NDTB-1 can successfully remove 99Tc from nuclear waste. The study was published in "Advanced Functional Materials" magazine. (Reporter Liu Xia)