Removal of lanthanum, uranium and thorium from the citrate complexes by immobilized cells of Citrobacter sp. in a flow-through reactor: implications for the decontamination of solutions containing plutonium

Author: Yong P.   Macaskie L.E.  

Publisher: Springer Publishing Company

ISSN: 0141-5492

Source: Biotechnology Letters, Vol.19, Iss.3, 1997-01, pp. : 251-256

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Previous Menu Next

Abstract

A Citrobacter sp., documented for heavy metal uptake, removed La and U from a flow presented to polyacrylamide gel-immobilized cells but removed little Th under the same conditions when presented alone or in combination with La and U. The poor removal of Th was attributable to the strength of the complex of tetravalent actinide species with citrate co-presented as a model chelating ligand. The implications of this for the treatment of wastes containing Pu(IV) are discussed.