Electrochemistry and Radioactive Wastes: A Scientific Overview

Year 2016, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 47 - 74, 31.01.2016

Maher Abed Elaziz , Mohamed Khalifa

Abstract

Radioactive wastes are arising from nuclear applications such as nuclear medicine and nuclear power plants. Radioactive wastes should be managed in a safe manner to protect human beings and the environment now and in the future. The management strategy depends on collection, segregation, treatment, immobilization, and disposal. The treatment process is a very important step in which the hazardous materials were converted to a more concentrated, less volume and less movable materials. Electrochemistry is the branch of chemistry in which the passage of electric current was producing a chemical change. Electrochemical treatment of radioactive wastes is widely used all over the world. It has a number of advantages and hence benefits. Electrochemistry can lead to remote, automatic control and increasing safety. The present work is focusing on the role of electrochemistry in the treatment of radioactive wastes worldwide. It contains the fundamentals of electrochemistry, the brief story of radioactive wastes, and the modern trends in the electrochemical treatment of radioactive wastes. An overview of electrochemical decomposition of organic wastes, electrochemical reduction of nitrates, electro- precipitation, electro- ion exchange, and electrochemical remediation of soil are outlined. The main operating factors, the mechanism of decontamination, energy consumption and examples of field trials are considered.

Keywords

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