| Abstract
| - Cobalt and other metals, spiked onto lab coats, can be removed by supercritical fluid carbondioxide (SC-CO2) containing mixed chelating agents Cyanex 302 and dithiocarbamate, as wellas by a water-in-CO2 microemulsion. The extraction efficiencies for both methods can exceed90%. The mixed-ligand approach suggests that effective metal extraction can be developed usingtwo different ligands contributing to the solubility and stability of the resulting metal chelatesin SC-CO2. The water-in-CO2 microemulsion method does not require chelating agents. Thisapproach significantly reduces the amount of liquid waste generation. Dynamic extraction time,flow rate, temperature of outlet restrictor, and collection solvent must be taken into considerationfor the recovery efficiency. The potential of utilizing supercritical fluid solutions for cleaning60Co-contaminated protective coats used by nuclear power plant workers is discussed.
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