Assessment removal of tritium radionuclide from liquid waste using sequential ion exchange resin

Tritium (H-3) readily combines with oxygen to form water, so its behavior in aqueous systems is controlled by hydro logic processes and it migrates at essentially the same velocity as surface and ground water. In this study removal of tritium from radioactive aqueous solution by using a strongly acidic resin (KU-2) and weakly basic resin (AN-31) by batch and column technique was investigated. Batch studies were performed to estimate the effect of pH, contact time and resin weight in the removal process as well as desorption process. The optimum pH was found to be 7.8. The maximum uptake was reached within one hour and the equilibrium was reached within 1.5 h. Desorption of radioactive tritium was achieved using 3 M HNO3 and 2 M NaOH. The removal of tritium from liquid radioactive waste using the sequential cationic and anionic columns exchangers that are being used in Egyptian liquid radioactive waste treatment plant was applied. The obtained purified water reaches the permissible level to save our environment. Finally, results indicate that KU-2 resin is an efficient ion exchanger for the removal of H-3 from aqueous solution.