Trivalent actinides such as Americium are among the many risk driving contaminants in nuclear waste.  Due to past accidental releases and for reasons related to performance assessment, the environmental fate of actinides is a crucial field of study. In the present study, the effect of siderophores in the mobility of trivalent actinides in the environment was investigated. Europium was used as a non-radioactive surrogate of Americium and its sorption on abundant natural substrates in the presence and absence of the siderophore DFOB was studied.  Siderophores are biologically produced organic ligands that strongly complex with Fe (III) but can also form strong complexes with other metals such as Mo, Mn, Co, and Ni. Batch experiments were conducted where Eu was brought into contact with magnetite or goethite in the presence and absence of DFOB in a 4-8 pH range. The[VA1]  concentration of Eu in the aqueous phase was monitored by ICP-MS, whereas the concentration of DFOB was monitored using Uv-Vis. Results show that at pH 4 the presence of DFOB does not play a significant role on Eu sorption while at pH 6, DFOB hinders Eu sorption, thus contributing in the proliferation of the contaminant in the aqueous phase. At pH 8, free soluble europium does not exist, but in the presence of DFOB, a stable Eu-DFOB complex persists in the aqueous phase. Overall, the presence of siderophores seems to enhance the mobility of trivalent actinides under environmentally relevant conditions. Future studies include sorption of Eu-DFOB complex on manganese oxides, which exhibit high sportive capacity, with the objective of gaining enough knowledge to propose relevant remediation schemes. <br/><br/> [VA1]Here you need a sentence describing your experiment: for example “batch experiments were performed bringing in contact x and y iron oxides with europium in the presence and absence of dfob at a range of pH, concentrations and la la la la”  [VA1]

Effect of siderophores on actinide mobility in the environment: Eu interaction with iron oxides in the presence of desferrioxamine B (DFOB)

ACS Spring 2022

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