• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권12호
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• pp.4527-4542
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• 2023

The present microbial reinforcement of rock and soil exhibits limitations, such as uneven reinforcement effectiveness and low calcium carbonate generation rate, resulting in limited solidification strength. This study introduces electroosmosis as a standard microbial grouting reinforcement technique and investigates its solidification effects on microbial-reinforced uranium tailings. The most effective electroosmosis effect on uranium tailings occurs under a potential gradient of 1.25 V/cm. The findings indicate that a weak electric field can effectively promote microbial growth and biological activity and accelerate bacterial metabolism. The largest calcium carbonate production occurred under the gradient of 0.5 V/cm, featuring a good crystal combination and the best cementation effect. Staged electroosmosis and electrode conversion efficiently drive the migration of anions and cations. Under electroosmosis, the cohesion of uranium tailings reinforced by microorganisms increased by 37.3% and 64.8% compared to those reinforced by common microorganisms and undisturbed uranium tailings, respectively. The internal friction angle is also improved, significantly enhancing the uniformity of reinforcement and a denser and stronger microscopic structure. This research demonstrates that MICP technology enhances the solidification effects and uniformity of uranium tailings, providing a novel approach to maintaining the safety and stability of uranium tailings dams.

• 방사성폐기물학회지
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• 제14권2호
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• pp.189-200
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• 2016

타지키스탄공화국에는 10군데의 우라늄광산 부지에 55백만톤의 우라늄광산 폐기물이 적치 되어 있는데 부지 면적이 200 핵 타아르에 달한다. 이에 따라 우라늄 폐광과 폐기물의 안전한 관리가 주요 이슈로 부각되고 있다. 부지 복원을 위한 천연방벽과 인공방벽으로 구성된 다중 복토층은 성능 목표와 부지 조건을 고려하여 설치되어야 한다. 본 논문의 목적은 Degmay 부지에 장기간 (100년 이상)의 환경보호를 제공할 수 있는 경제적인 다중 복토층 개념을 제시 하는 것이다. HELP 코드를 사용하여 Degmay 부지의 복토층 설계 개념의 평가를 수행하였다. 그 결과 70 cm의 덮개층, 30 cm의 배수층, 지오멤브레인 라이너 그리고 60 cm의 토양 방벽층으로 구성된 복토층 개념이 두께를 최소화 할 수 있고 비교된 여러 설계개념 중 가장 경제적인 설계 안으로 제시되었다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권2호
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• pp.523-529
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• 2023

Cemented uranium tailings backfill created from alkali-activated slag (CUTB) is an effective method of disposing of uranium tailings. Using some environmental functional minerals with ion exchange, adsorption, and solidification abilities as backfill modified materials may improve the leaching resistance of the CUTB. Natural zeolite, which has good ion exchange and adsorption characteristics, is selected as the backfill modified material, and it is added to the backfill materials with cementitious material proportions of 4%, 8%, 12%, and 16% to prepare CUTB mixtures with environmental functional minerals. After the addition of natural zeolite, the uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of the CUTB decreases, but the leaching resistance of the CUTB increases. When the natural zeolite content is 12%, the UCS reaches the minimum value of 8.95 MPa, and the concentration of uranium in the leaching solution is 0.28-8.07 mg/L, the leaching rate R₄₂ is 9.61×10^-7 cm/d, and cumulative leaching fraction P₄₂ is 8.53×10^-4 cm, which shows that the alkali-activated slag cementitious material has a good curing effect on the CUTB, and the addition of environmental functional minerals helps to further improve the leaching resistance of the CUTB, but it reduces the UCS to an extent.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권10호
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• pp.3631-3640
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• 2022

Uranium mill tailing ponds (UMTPs) are risk source of debris flow and a critical source of environmental U and Rn pollution. The technology of microbial induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) has been extensively studied on reinforcement of UMTs, while little attention has been paid to the effects of MICP on U & Rn release, especially when incorporation of metakaolin and bacillus subtilis (MBS). In this study, the reinforcement and U & Rn immobilization role of MBS -MICP solidification in different grouting cycle for uranium mill tailings (UMTs) was comprehensively investigated. The results showed that under the action of about 166.7 g/L metakaolin and ~50% bacillus subtilis, the solidification cycle of MICP was shortened by 50%, the solidified bodies became brittle, and the axial stress increased by up to 7.9%, and U immobilization rates and Rn exhalation rates decrease by 12.6% and 0.8%, respectively. Therefore, the incorporation of MBS can enhance the triaxial compressive strength and improve the immobilization capacity of U and Rn of the UMTs bodies solidified during MICP, due to the reduction of pore volume and surface area, the formation of more crystals general gypsum and gismondine, as well as the enhancing of coprecipitation and encapsulation capacity.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권8호
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• pp.2927-2934
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• 2023

The influence of the atmospheric radon background on the airborne gamma spectrum can seriously affect researchers' judgement of ground radiation information. However, due to load and endurance, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-borne gamma-ray spectrometry is difficulty installing upward-looking detectors to monitor atmospheric radon background. In this paper, an advanced spectral-ratio method was used to correct the atmospheric radon background for a UAV-borne gamma-ray spectrometry in Inner Mongolia, China. By correcting atmospheric radon background, the ratio of the average count rate of U window in the anomalous radon zone (S5) to that in other survey zone decreased from 1.91 to 1.03, and the average uranium content in S5 decreased from 4.65 mg/kg to 3.37 mg/kg. The results show that the advanced spectral-ratio method efficiently eliminated the influence of the atmospheric radon background on the UAV-borne gamma-ray spectrometry to accurately obtain ground radiation information in uranium exploration. It can also be used for uranium tailings monitoring, and environmental radiation background surveys.

• 자원환경지질
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• 제30권6호
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• pp.567-586
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• 1997

Concentrations of several heavy metals in soils derived from black shale and slate have been reported to be higher than the average concentrations in non-polluted soils. This study describes and characterizes soil minerals, and investigates the distribution of heavy metals in soils, and then examines their relationship. Soils in the study area are mainly consist of guartz and feldspars with minor amount of kaolin, illite, vermiculite, chlorite and illite-vermiculite interstratified minerals. Mineral compositions are similar in mountain-, farmland-, and paddy-soils. The residual soils derived from sandy phyllites contain less illites than those from black shale and black slate. Heavy metals appear to be more concentrated in soils than in rocks. The concentrate ratios in soils to rocks ranges 1.1 times for Cr, 2 for Cu, 1.4 for Ni. The contour maps of Cd, Zn, Pb, Cu contents using 0.43N $HNO_3$-extraction imply that these elements are highly concentrated in the soils near the past uranium exploration region, coal seams, black slate beds and tailings than other parts of the study area. The proportions of the day in most soils are less than 10%. In spite of small proportions of the clay, the concentrations of heavy metals from clay fractions to the total concentrations are high: 1~2.4 times for Co, 1.4~2.5 for Cu, 1.2~2.6 for Ni, 1~5 for Pb, 1~2.7 for Zn and 1.6~1.8 for Cr and V. The contents of organic carbons in clay fractions are also 1.5~3.9 times higher than in silt and sand fractions. Cu, Pb and organic carbons show positive relationship in all size fractions. In the size-fractionated soil profile samples, the contents of heavy metals and organic carbons show analogous trends with depth. For the clay fractions of soil profile samples, the contents of heavy metals with depth have analogous trends to abundances of vermiculites, which have the high CEC in main clay minerals.