Effect pH of Feed Solution, Contact Time, and Concentration on Voting Eluan Uranium by Chelating Resin

Abtract:

Solution process effluent is generated from a nuclear plant that processes mainly materials that form solution, and is still valuable because it contains uranium. Given the economy, safeguards of nuclear materials, and environmental safety, the effluent containing uranium prosess still has to be collected again.

The methods used for collecting uranium from process effluent is to use the modified resin (chelating resin). Modified resin is made from resin and Dowex chelating agent TOPO. Effluent process used in this study is the solution obtained from the analysis and other research activities at the Experimental Fuel Element Installation (IEBE). Harvesting is carried out by mixing uranium and TOPO-modified resin and allowed to stand for certain time, causing the binding of uranium by modified resin. Uranium is bound by the modified resin was eluted with a solution of  NaCl (eluan) so that it can be seen that terpungut uranium. The parameters studied  were the pH of the feed solution (the effluent), contact time and concentration eluan. The experimental results  show that a relatively good operating condition is pH 4, 12-hour contact time and concentration eluan 2%. In these conditions, uranium is terpungut is 0.408 g/L or 39.88% of the initial concen-tration of uranium in the effluent process.

Keywords: Recovery of uranium, effluent process, chelating resin, TOPO

Ghaib Widodo(* dan Kris Tri Basuki(**

*) Pusat Teknologi Bahan Bakar Nuklir-Batan

e-mail:ghaibwidodo@yahoo.com

**) Sekolah Tinggi Teknologi Nuklir

e-mail: kristri_basuki@batan.go.id