Uranium electrochemistry with radiological control: electrodeposition and liquid effluents

• Grant number: 13/08514-3
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: August 01, 2013
• End date: July 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Nuclear Engineering - Nuclear Fuel
• Principal Investigator: Adonis Marcelo Saliba Silva
• Grantee: Adonis Marcelo Saliba Silva
• Host Institution: Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: São Paulo
• Associated researchers: Marcelo Linardi ; Michelangelo Durazzo ; Rafael Henrique Lazzari Garcia

Abstract

The present project proposes development of technical and scientific topics, which are correlated: electrodeposition of uranium, thorium-234 preferential electrodeposition and methodological development of evaluation and quantification of the amount of uranium in industrial effluents. The electrodeposition of uranium has the purpose of increasing the uranium mass during the electrodeposition process, since it is needed to achieve higher amounts of fissile material to allow the irradiation target fabrication in order to produce Mo-99. In parallel, by utilizing the technique of pulsed electrodeposition, it is proposed to study the physical and chemical conditions when and how the preferred radionuclide thorium-234 occurs. This radionuclide, due to its characteristics of aggregation with other particles and its high beta emission intensity has been very useful for watercourses studies in deep ocean. On completion, we intend to develop a scientific methodology to control industrial wastewater containing uranium, based on radioactive emissions counting associated with the accurate determination of uranium content by polarography. All these three purposes of the project need the same equipment and laboratory to be installed. (AU)