Cobalt (58Co/60Co) has various applications in many industries and processes such as alloy production for orthopedic applications, cold pasteurization agent in food industry, petrochemical industries, gas turbine generation process and radiotherapy.1-3 Besides, it is also one of the byproducts of nuclear and defense related industries. During operation of nuclear power plants, many γ- emitting activated corrosion products are generated which contain various radionuclide’s such as 51Cr, 59Fe, 58Co, 65Zn, 54Mn and 60Co.4 Among which, 60Co is the most significant radioactive element due to its longer half-life (5.26 years) and emission of higher (1.17 and 1.33 MeV) gamma energies.5 During the decontamination process in the nuclear industry, a mixture of ion chelating agents and organic acids like Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), Nitrilotriacetic acid, citric acid and ascorbic acid are added that generates citrate, oxalate and EDTA complexes of cobalt. Among which cobalt citrate and cobalt oxalate can easily be removed by chemical precipitation in post-decontamination processes but the removal of cobalt-EDTA complex, i.e. [Co(III)-EDTA]– is cumbersome due to its high stability and solubility.6 Chelated form of cobalt such as [Co(III)-EDTA]– is more soluble and mobile than that of non-chelated form.7 Apart from chelation, oxidation states of the cobalt also determine the solubility and mobility of cobalt. Oxidation state of cobalt in EDTA complex play a major role and determine the stability and mobility of cobalt near waste disposal sites. Oxidized form of cobalt, Co(III) has a stronger affinity to EDTA than that of the Co(II), that is why [Co(III)-EDTA]– has higher stability and solubility.8 Since, most transportable form of 6...
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...t are expected to have higher radiotolarance.26 These habitats might act as rich repositories for the isolation of novel microorganisms with potential bioremediation applications for radioactive nuclear waste.26 In this present study, a [Co(III)-EDTA]- reducing bacterium Bacillus licheniformis SPB2 was isolated from a solar salt pan and reduction conditions for [Co(III)-EDTA]- were optimized. We report the reduction of [Co(III)-EDTA]- to [Co(II)-EDTA]2- by B. licheniformis SPB2 at much higher concentration (i.e. 1 mM) than the reported value in post-decontamination nuclear waste processing (0.01 mM). Various aspects of [Co(III)-EDTA]- reduction were also studied. B. licheniformis SPB2 also showed substantial radio-tolerance. This report concludes that novel microbial isolates from the naturally stressed environment are useful for bioremediation of hazardous waste.
One of the biggest and longest lasting environmental impacts of the detonation of the atomic bomb is the radiation contaminations that are left over. These contaminations spread into water, air, animals, soil and into the atmosphere. What’s worse is that these contaminations have materials that have very long half-life meaning that their radiation effects do not decay quickly. “Many of the substances released, including plutonium, uranium, strontium, cesium, benzene, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury and cyanide, are carcinogenic and/or mutagenic and remain hazardous for thousands, some for hundreds of thousands, of year” (The Effects of nuclear weapons). The spread of these contaminates will cause significant health risks to animals ca...
What if there was a way to clean up radioactive waste spills? To clean it out of waters for safe consumption? For years and years people have seen the ways that bacteria can clean up oil spills and nuclear waste, and where baffled on how they did so. How did something so small, clean up a mess so big? Gemma Reguera and her team at Michigan State have solved the age long question. They have decided that bacteria do so by a hair like pili. The pili acts much like a conductive wire, by transferring electrons. Geobacter Sulfurreduncen is one of the many bacteria that do so. The energy conducted by the pili, in turn powers the bacteria. Geobacter, for short, is able to both isolate and, in a sense, kill off uranium in contaminated ground water. So my question is, how effective would it be to clean out mass amount of uranium? First I had to learn about Geobacter and the types of waste created.
Lanthanum oxide and other rare earth oxides are used in making of the optical glasses, in the preparation of glass fibers for optical purposes, in gasoline-cracking catalysts, polishing compounds, carbon arcs, and in the iron and steel industries to remove sulfur, carbon, and other electronegative elements from iron and steel (Ganjali et al. 2006). Lanthanum ions accelerate hydrolysis of phosphate ester binding by 13 orders of magnitude. This suggests that phosphate di ester in DNA may also suffer such destruction. Thus, lanthanum should be situated among the class of highly toxic metal ions that are potentially effective against micro and higher organisms. Lanthanum chloride manifests as antitumor. Genotoxicity of lanthanum (III) in human peripheral blood lymphocytes has also been reported. Lanthanum chloride caused changes in lipid peroxidation, the redox system, and ATPase activities in plasma membranes of rice seeding roots (Haiduc and Silvestru 1990; Yongxing, Xiaorong, and Zichun 2000).
Cobalt(II) bromide hydrate (2.170 g, 9.17 mmol) was dissolved in acetone (50 ml) which formed a dark blue solution. Dimethylglyoxime (2.209 g, 19 mmol) was added to the solution turning it dark red-brown. The solution was held under a gentle stream of air for 30 minutes and a green precipitate formed. The solution was cooled in an ice bath then vacuum filtered and washed with cold acetone (twice with 15 ml) to yield the green precipitate (1) (2.85 g, 5.97 mmol, 83.9% yield).
The object of this experiment was to determine properties for the formation of a metal complex ion, ferrothiocyanate by observing its colorimetric characteristics. The reaction was done for differing amounts of Fe+3 and SCN-, and the absorbance was measured using a spectrophotometer. The absorbance showed that maximum Fe(SCN)+2 ion production was achieved when the mole fraction of SCN was .6, which was close to the expected value of .5. However, when the equilibrium constant was calculated for this reaction, experimental error may have played a role when the achieved value of -660 was significantly different than an expected large positive number. These properties of equilibrium were determined through colorimetric properties.
...on techniques are brought from the lab into commercial practice, the importance of sound methods for evaluating bioremediation will increase. Recent breakthroughs not only represent an important advancement in bioremediation, the use of biological organisms to reduce radiation, but the potential of a microbial fuel cell that generates electricity while cleaning up nuclear waste. Consequently, even though this technology is still in its infancy, this discovery prompts a reexamination of its impact on nuclear energy in the future. The major advantage in the advancement of bioremediation will greatly help prevent the escape of radiation from plants and the cleaning of nuclear disaster sites such as Fukushima and Chernobyl. It will also allow outdated nuclear plants to be more effectively dismantled without releasing dangerous levels of radiation into the environment.
In 1979, near Churchrock, New Mexico, 1000 tons of radioactive mill waste and 93 million gallons of acidic, radioactive solution was released into the Rio Puerco when the catchment...
The use and management of radioactive materials is not a topic that is generally discussed in abundance to everyday citizens. Many people do not know what radioactive waste is or even the effect that it can have on the human body. Radioactive waste is a type of waste that has some type of radioactive material inside of it. The managing of this radioactive waste is extremely important because it can cause damage to living tissue. Without a place to properly dispose of or contain, the radioactive waste can contaminate our water, food, air, or even our land. If this happened it would be detrimental to all human’s health, causing many different problems throughout the world not only with the health of the population, but problems with the environment as well. Therefore it is vital that we have somewhere to put these radioactive wastes.
Since the dawn of civilization, all living (and some non-living) things have needed energy. When humans discovered fire, the first form of harnessed energy, it made it easier to stay warm, prepare food, make weapons, etc. Since then, humankind has been inventing new ways to harness energy and use it to our advantage. Now-a-days, people in most nations depend extremely heavily on fossil fuels – to work, travel, regulate temperature of homes, produce food, clothing, and furniture, as well as other power industries. Not only are these fossil fuels dominating our society and creating economic vulnerability, but they also produce waste that causes a number of social and environmental concerns. The waste from these fuels leads to acid rain, smog, and climate change. It also releases sulfur dioxide as well as other air pollutants that are very harmful to the human respiratory system (Morris, 1999, p. ix). There are other alternative sustainable energy sources including solar, hydroelectric, wind, and biomass. However, the main source aside from fossil fuel is nuclear energy from controlled nuclear reactions (where nuclei of radioisotopes become stable or nonradioactive by undergoing changes) in a nuclear power plant. Nuclear power produces enormous amounts of energy to serve a community. Unfortunately, nuclear energy has its own set of problems – a big one being its waste. The spent fuel from nuclear plants is radioactive. This means that it emits radiation, or penetrating rays and particles emitted by a radioactive source. Ionizing radiation is known to cause cancer, and therefore makes anyone who lives near spent nuclear waste facilities vulnerable to this incurable disease. The disposal of nuclear waste is a global issue...
There are many elements in the world and one of them is cobalt. It is a silvery blue metal with a blue coat. It is element number twenty-seven on the table, which means that it has twenty-seven protons and electrons. One mole or its atomic weight is 58.9 grams. It has a relatively high melting and boiling point, the melting point being 1,495 degrees Celsius or 2,723 Fahrenheit and the boiling point being 2,927 degrees Celsius or 5,301 Fahrenheit. The top three countries that mine this element are the District Republic of the Congo, Cuba, and Australia in that order. Cobalt has had and still has many uses in the world today. This element’s uses include alloys, electronics, chemicals, agriculture, and health industries. It is used in all of these industries in many ways. (Cobalt Periodic)
In this experiment, [Co(NH3)5ONO]Cl¬2 was synthesized with a yield of 1.4314 g. It was then used to obtain UV-Vis Spectroscopy data with other prepared cobalt complexes including [Co(NH3)5(H2O)]Cl3, [Co(NH3)5(Cl)]Cl2 , Co(NH3)5(NO2)]Cl2 and [Co(NH3)6]Cl3. Each compound was a different color. Color, by definition, represents the wavelengths of UV light that a particle reflects. UV-Vis spectroscopy measures the amount of UV light absorbed. The easy way to determine wavelength of absorption from the color of the solution was the use of a color wheel like in Figure 1. The wavelengths of the color opposite of the solution’s color in the color wheel were the expected wavelengths of absorption. Co(NH3)5ONO]Cl¬2 was an reddish-orange color so its wavelength
In nature, the radioactive wastes and heavy metals can be present in a number of forms such as oxides, superoxides, peroxides, sulphates, nitrates, citrates, carbonates etc. Microorganisms change these forms or states of toxic substances into less toxic or non toxic states. They carry out these transformations due to their sensitivity towards presence or absence of free electrons. Under aerobic conditions, the microorganisms direct oxygen to act as electron acceptor and under anaerobic conditions the suphate group, nitrate group, phosphate group or carbonate group etc. take up the electrons (Francis 1990).
Another point to remove cobalt that it has radioactive isotopes resulted from irradiation with high energy neutron flux so this is too danger for being used as a shielding material. The most common radioactive isotope is cobalt-60 that is produced when structural materials, such as steel, are exposed to neutron radiation. 60Co nucleus emits two gamma rays with energies of 1.17 and 1.33 MeV.
One of the Science, Technology and Society challenges is the resulting pollutions from the production of nuclear power that human is faced today. Nuclear power has been widely applied in the world and provides approximately 17% of the world’s electricity [1, 2]. However, the widely applications of nuclear energy will produce consequent high-level radioactive waste (HLW), which is increasing about 12000 metric tons every year and includes various elements such as lanthanides, actinides and so on [3-7]. The presence of radioactive material in the water systems is very dangerous for human health, animals and the environment because it may cause mutations and ultimately lead to kinds of cancer [8]. Therefore, these pollutions must be eliminated before entering them in water systems and environment cycle. Because the diffusion, fluidity and bioavailability of radioactive materials are controlled by the adsorption properties, the adsorption processes of this material are considered to be very important [9].
To save words we not go into the basic details of these radiations but these radiations make the radioisotopes our friend or foe. These radiations revolve round the issue of their use and disposal. Interestingly, both use and disposal are issues of concern. Disposal is an issue because the waste is non-biodegradable and the harmful radiations from them could cause cancer and alter genes in the DNA etc. The use of radioactivity is by itself an issue. Is it safe to use? Where shall the nuclear power plant be located? Where will the waste go?