Patent ID: 7622627

Claim:
A system for chemically decontaminating radioactive material, the system comprising: a decontamination tank for containing radioactive material and decontamination liquid; a direct current power source for providing potential between the radioactive material and an anode; and a circulation loop connected to the tank for circulating the decontamination liquid, the circulation loop having: a decontamination agent feeder for feeding the decontamination liquid that is reductive and that is a mixture of mono-carboxylic acid and di-carboxylic acid into the decontamination liquid; a hydrogen peroxide feeder for feeding hydrogen peroxide into the decontamination liquid to decompose the mono-carboxylic acid in the decontamination liquid; an ion exchanger for separating and removing metal ions in the decontamination liquid; and an ozonizer for injecting ozone into the decontamination liquid to decompose the di-carboxylic acid in the decontamination liquid; wherein the mono-carboxylic acid is formic acid and the di-carboxylic acid is oxalic acid, and wherein a mole fraction of formic acid in the decontamination liquid is 0.9 or more.