In the case of chemical impurites it's easy enough to evaporate water to remove the impurities...but in the case of a radioactive contamination...is there a process seperate the radioactive particles?
2006-07-19 04:58:25 · 5 answers · asked by Dustin S 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
Depends on the type of radioactive particle :
Big Bits - use a particulate filter of appropriate size - 1micron for "standard" insolubles, 0.22micron for bacteria.
Metals are easy - remove via reverse osmosis followed by cation selective ion exchange resin.
General anions - the same, except final scrub is an anion selective ion exchange resin.
Radioactive organics could be removed by carbon filtration.
So, for most substances, the generalised system would be :
1 micron particulate filter followed by RO followed by Cation Exchange Resin followed by Anion Exchange Resin followed by "mixed bed" polishing resin followed by 0.22micron particulate filter.
This should work for just about everything except :
Noble gas radionucleartides
Heavy water
To remove noble gases (and any other dissolved gases) - triple distill under vacuum.
To concentrate the heavy water radionucleartides - 1000 stage ultracentrifuges. This last one makes all the other stuff look pretty trivial !!
2006-07-19 20:25:31 · answer #1 · answered by Bruce H 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Most redioactive elements that you need to be concerned with such as uranium and strontium and tranuranal elements form insoluble salts. By making those salts, filtering them out, and then distilling the solution the water should should have its radioactivity level reduced significantly.
If the water is still not usable, if the radioactivity level is still too high, you shouldn't even be trying to work with the water to make it usable. Move to a location further away from Tehran, Iran.
2006-07-19 08:29:15 · answer #2 · answered by Alan Turing 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sunlight is a great disinfectant. In some primitive country (I saw on tv) people fill small, clear plastic bottles with water. Lay the bottles up on the corrugated roof, and after 5-6 hours of full sun exposure, the water was safe to drink. The plastic bottles were the kind that were tall and thin. It is also possible to buy iodine tablets at outdoor provisions shops, like camping supplies. I would try to strain all creek or spring water to remove any debris (including insects) and try to let any murkiness settle to the bottom even before trying to boil. Pour off only the top portion, leave any murkiness or debris at the bottom.
2016-03-26 23:54:13 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. There are several ways, including precipitation reactions that cause isotopes to fall out of solution as a salt. Labs do this on a small scale in order to analyze water samples for various isotopes.
2006-07-19 05:12:02 · answer #4 · answered by thuren2001 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you have to salt them out, but it takes time and money. it's best not to drink radioactive water, and not water plants with it either.
2006-07-19 08:59:35 · answer #5 · answered by shiara_blade 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋