ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
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Division Spotlight
Isotopes & Radiation
Members are devoted to applying nuclear science and engineering technologies involving isotopes, radiation applications, and associated equipment in scientific research, development, and industrial processes. Their interests lie primarily in education, industrial uses, biology, medicine, and health physics. Division committees include Analytical Applications of Isotopes and Radiation, Biology and Medicine, Radiation Applications, Radiation Sources and Detection, and Thermal Power Sources.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Latest News
Commercial nuclear innovation "new space" age
In early 2006, a start-up company launched a small rocket from a tiny island in the Pacific. It exploded, showering the island with debris. A year later, a second launch attempt sent a rocket to space but failed to make orbit, burning up in the atmosphere. Another year brought a third attempt—and a third failure. The following month, in September 2008, the company used the last of its funds to launch a fourth rocket. It reached orbit, making history as the first privately funded liquid-fueled rocket to do so.
S. M. Yakout
Nuclear Technology | Volume 189 | Number 3 | March 2015 | Pages 294-300
Technical Paper | Reprocessing | doi.org/10.13182/NT14-39
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Radioactive element separation is of particular interest in nuclear technology. For this purpose, batch experiments were carried out in order to find the best separation conditions of uranium [U(VI)] and thorium [Th(IV)] from aqueous solution using rice straw activated carbon. The influence of pH and contact time on selective adsorption of U(VI) and Th(IV) was investigated. The results indicate that the velocity of these species from liquid phase to the surface of carbon is rapid enough. The reaction rate was fast, requiring only a short contact time of 40 min for U(VI) and 100 min for Th(IV). Sorption reaches maximum at pH 4 for Th(IV) and at pH 5.5 for U(VI). U(VI) and Th(IV) can be separated by the judicious controlling of pH and contact time. They can be separated from each other at pH 4 with different contact time [Th(IV) at lower time and U(VI) at 200 min]. Studies were conducted to examine the change in the adsorption behavior of U(VI) and Th(IV) on adsorbent as a function of employing different complexing agents of mineral and organic acids that are important in industrial and environmental processes, including hydrochloric, nitric, acetic, sulfuric, and phosphoric acids at 0.1M concentration. Acetic acid enhances U(VI) and Th(IV) uptake compared to mineral acids. These procedures may be useful in the separation of U(VI) and Th(IV) from natural or industrial samples containing these elements.