PNNL

Abstract

Tank waste on the Hanford Site contains radioactive elements that need to be removed from solution prior to disposal. One effective way to do this is to precipitate the radioactive elements with manganese solids, produced by permanganate oxidation. When added to tank waste, the permanganate, Mn(VII), reacts quickly producing manganese (IV) dioxide precipitate. Because of the speed of reaction it is difficult to tell what exactly is happening. Individual reactions using non-radioactive reductants found in the tanks were done to determine reaction kinetics, what permanganate was reduced to, and what oxidation products were formed. In this project sodium formate, sodium nitrite, glycolic acid, glycine, and sodium oxalate were studied using various concentrations of reductant in alkaline sodium hydroxide solutions. It was determined that formate reacted the quickest, followed by glycine and glycolic acid. Oxalate and nitrite did not appear to react with the permanganate solutions. The formate reactions quickly reduced permanganate, Mn(VII), to manganate, Mn(VI), and then to manganese (IV) dioxide. These reactions oxidized formate to carbonate and water. The glycolic acid was oxidized slower producing oxalate, water, and manganate, which would disproportionate to permanganate and manganese (IV) dioxide solids. The rate at which Mn(VI) disproportionates is usually slower than the rate at which Mn(VII) is reduced to Mn(VI), however in this case the rates were about equal. The glycine reactions formed some ammonia in solution, oxalate, and water. They reacted similar to the glycolic acid reactions, producing manganese dioxide precipitate before the solution turned totally green from Mn(VI). The formate reactions consumed one mole of hydroxide for every 3 moles of formate, while the glycolic acid and glycine reactions consumed 7 moles of hydroxide for every 3 moles of reductant. These reactions should help to determine the majority of products found in mixtures of solutions.