Creation of radioactive metal-carbon nanocomposite materials using supercritical fluids

• Project/Area Number: 26630482
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Nuclear engineering
• Research Institution: Tokyo Institute of Technology
• Principal Investigator: Tsukahara Takehiko 東京工業大学, 科学技術創成研究院, 准教授 (10401126)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2017)
• Budget Amount: ¥3,770,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥870,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000); Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,690,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥390,000)
• Keywords: 超臨界水熱合成 / ナノ粒子 / 放射性廃棄物処理処分 / 超臨界水 / ナノ材料 / 放射性核種の固定化 / 放射性廃棄物処理 / ナノ材料合成

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aimed to develop novel radioactive waste management method, in which target radionuclides can be immobilized on and/or enclosed in carbon nanotube (CNT), by using supercritical hydrothermal synthesis treatment. Aqueous solutions containing both various metal ions such as uranium and lanthanides and CNT were treated under supercritical conditions, and the concentrations of each metal ion were analyzed due to several spectroscopic instruments. These results showed that nanocomposite materials composed by the CNT and the metal oxides could be successfully recovered. This method would be suitable to radioactive waste management.

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Studies on Supercritical Hydrothermal Syntheses of Uranium and Lanthanide Oxide Particles and Their Reaction Mechanisms (2015)
  • Author(s): Dongki Hwang, Takehiko Tsukahara, Yasuhisa Ikeda
  • Journal Title: Journal of Nuclear Materials Volume: 466 Pages: 131-141
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2015.06.020
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
• [Presentation] Solubility Studies on Lanthanide(III) Fluorinated Complexes in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (2014)
  • Author(s): D. Hwang, T. Tsukahara, and Y. Ikeda
  • Organizer: The 2nd Asian Nuclear Fuel Conference
  • Place of Presentation: Sendai
  • Year and Date: 2014-09-18 – 2014-09-19