Invention Reference Number
High-gradient magnetic filtration (HGMF) is a non-destructive separation technique that captures magnetic constituents from a matrix containing other non-magnetic species. One characteristic that actinide metals share across much of the group is that they are magnetic. By using HGMF to separate actinide species from standard dust materials, we have shown that intact UO2 particles can be effectively captured from undesirable metal species. A novel HGMF device has been designed, optimized, and manufactured for capture that has proven to be effective in the separation of UO2 particles from silica (SiO2) or Arizona road dust (ARD) in suspension. Aqueous suspensions of 10 mg/L UO2 and 100 mg/L SiO2 or ARD were used for these tests. The effectiveness with which UO2 was separated from the other dust species in suspension was determined through characterization of the intact UO2 particles by single-particle time-of-flight inductively coupled plasma mass-spectroscopy (SP-TOF-ICP-MS).
Contact
To learn more about this technology, email partnerships@ornl.gov or call 865-574-1051.
