Pilot-scale synthesis for radioactive cesium adsorbents by radiation graft polymerization and their field tests

Kasai, Noboru; Iwanade, Akio; Ueki, Yuji; Saiki, Seiichi; Hoshina, Hiroyuki; Seko, Noriaki

To remove their radioactive species which have long radioactive half-life from the circumstances as rapidly as possible, we developed novel radioactive cesium adsorbents containing ammonium 12-molybdophosphate, which had adsorption selectivity for cesium ion, by radiation grafting method. The bench-scale equipment 150 times as large volume as laboratory scale was established for graft polymerization. The radioactive cesium adsorbents 1,000 times as large as laboratory scale were successfully synthesized with the bench-scale equipment. Moreover, the adsorption performance with radioactive cesium in environmental water was evaluated at field tests in Fukushima Prefecture. As a result, the adsorbents could successfully remove radioactive cesium dissolved in environmental water below the detection limit of radioactivity concentration.