Jan Rydberg (1923–2015) was a Swedish academic who spent much of his working life at

Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology (, commonly referred to as Chalmers) is a private university, private research university located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Chalmers focuses on engineering and science, but more broadly it also conducts research ...

. He was known for his work on solvent extraction which he did while working in the Nuclear Chemistry section at Chalmers.

Education

He obtained his masters (MS) in Stockholm in chemistry, physics, mathematics and psychology in 1947. The topic of his thesis was "Studies of complex formation by means of a liquid-liquid distribution method." and this was defended in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

in 1955, this was a thesis on the

Solvent Extraction A solvent (from the Latin language, Latin ''wikt:solvo#Latin, solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a Solution (chemistry), solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas ...

of metals using

acetylacetone Acetylacetone is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is classified as a 1,3-diketone. It exists in equilibrium with a tautomer . The mixture is a colorless liquid. These tautomers interconvert so rapidly under most conditions that ...

. His first scientific paper was on the subject of the complexes formed from thorium and acetylacetonate anions. This work was done using short-lived

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...

thorium-234 obtained from uranium-238. At the solvent extraction conference (ISEC 2008) was awarded the “Carl Hanson Award” for his outstanding contribution to solvent extraction. He was one of the founding editors of the journal '' Solvent Extraction and Ion Exchange'', which is known as SXIX.

Career

He was an early worker in partitionering and transmutation, an alternative concept to the long term deep geological disposal of either used fuel or high level waste. In P&T the alpha emitters which are the main contributors to the radiotoxicity of the waste (beyond 300 years) are removed from the liquid waste. These alpha emitters (transuranium actinides) are then destroyed (transmuted) by nuclear reactions. In 1962 he was appointed professor of nuclear chemistry at

in 1962, and he held this chair until 1988. While at Chalmers he developed the AKUFVE experimental rig which consists of two centrifugal machines coupled together. The work on the AKUFVE resulted in the development of the SISAK experimental equipment which is used to study very short-lived

radionuclides A radionuclide (radioactive nuclide, radioisotope or radioactive isotope) is a nuclide that has excess numbers of either neutrons or protons, giving it excess nuclear energy, and making it unstable. This excess energy can be used in one of three ...

. The SISAK equipment has been used to conduct research on the chemistry of superheavy elements. In recent years it has been used to study the chemistry of the transactinides. The AKUFVE was also used by Michael Cox to study metal extraction at Warren Spring Laboratory (WSL) in

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

while working with Douglas Flett. The same type of experimental rig was used by Flett before to study the extraction of

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

using the β hydroxybenzophenone oxime (LIX65N) with and without the addition of LIX63. Also in recent times some workers in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

are also using the AKUFVE rig to study the

rare earths The rare-earth elements (REE), also called the rare-earth metals or rare earths, and sometimes the lanthanides or lanthanoids (although scandium and yttrium, which do not belong to this series, are usually included as rare earths), are a set of ...

He took part in the debate regarding the question of "should the use of nuclear power be increased or discontinued", this included an exchange of ideas which were published in the ''

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists The ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'' is a nonprofit organization concerning science and global security issues resulting from accelerating technological advances that have negative consequences for humanity. The ''Bulletin'' publishes conte ...

''. Pro-nuclear Rydberg debated with Dean Abrahamson, Wendy Barnaby, Thomas B. Johansson and Peter Steen within the pages of the bulletin. Rydberg's rebuttal discusses how slowly glass, lead and copper

corrode Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...

. Abrahamson et al. reply in the same issue on page 61. Rydberg also has written a review on the risks from nuclear waste which was published by SKI (Report 96:70). SKI has now become part of SSM which is the Swedish Radiation Protection Board. Rydberg in later life was involved in the writing of two textbooks, one of which was ''Radiochemistry and Nuclear Chemistry'' ( Gregory R. Choppin,

Jan-Olov Liljenzin Jan-Olov Liljenzin (1936-2019) was a Swedish chemist and professor in nuclear chemistry. Liljenzin was professor at University of Oslo, Nuclear Chemistry, Norway 1986-1989, and at Chalmers University of Technology, Nuclear Chemistry, Gothenburg ...

and Jan Rydberg, published in 1995). This was reviewed in Applied Radiation and Isotopes by David M. Taylor.

Personal life and death

He was married to Britta E. Winroth on the 25th of October 1923, they had three daughters (Christina, Ingrid and Gunilla). He died in 2015 of heart failure but he had lived for years with

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

. After his death, a recycling prize at Chalmers was named after him.

Awards and honors

*Commander of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden''), sometimes translated as the Royal Order of the North Star, is a Swedish order of chivalry created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 F ...

*Membership of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (, IVA), founded on 24 October 1919 by King Gustaf V, is one of the royal academies in Sweden. The academy is an independent organisation, which promotes contact and exchange between business, ...

*Membership of the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Gothenburg *The Carl Hanson Medal

Positions held

*Chairman of the Swedish Chemical Society *Dean of Chemistry at CTH, Gothenburg (1980–1982). *Director of MEAB (1970–1981), MEAB is a company which markets solvent extraction machines for industrial and research use.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rydberg, Jan Swedish chemists 1923 births 2015 deaths