Abstract
Zirconia powder was synthesized via a sol gel method and placed in a batch reactor for cesium removal investigation. X-ray analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were utilized for the evaluation of the developed adsorbent. The adsorption process has been investigated as a function of pH, contact time and temperature. The adsorption is strongly dependent on the pH of the medium whereby the removal efficiency increases as the pH turns to the alkaline range. The process was initially very fast and the maximum adsorption was attained within 60 min of contact. A pseudo-second-order model and homogeneous particle diffusion model (HPDM) were found to be the best to correlate the diffusion of cesium into the zirconia particles. Furthermore, adsorption thermodynamic parameters, namely the standard enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy, were calculated. The results indicate that cesium adsorption by zirconia is an endothermic (ΔH > 0) process and good affinity of cesium ions towards the sorbent (ΔS > 0) was observed.
Highlights
Over the past years, scientists have focused on the problem of radioactive pollution, especially since the nuclear accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima that released a great volume of radionuclides into the environment
The highest removal efficiency of zirconia for cesium ion was obtained at pH 7.0
The adsorption can be explained as an ion exchange mechanism between cesium ion and hydroxyl groups
Summary
Scientists have focused on the problem of radioactive pollution, especially since the nuclear accidents at Chernobyl and Fukushima that released a great volume of radionuclides into the environment. Inorganic ion-exchangers have seen many applications in nuclear technology due to their high chemical, mechanical, and radiation stabilities and good compatibility with the final waste forms. They have high ion-exchange and adsorption capacity [6]. Metal oxides are inorganic ion exchangers that are extensively used in radioactive waste treatment [7]. Adsorbent powders of metal oxide origin, synthesized by the sol-gel process in this work, have not previously been used in removing cesium from aqueous solutions. Zirconia was successfully prepared by a sol-gel technique and used for removal of Cs+ ions from aqueous solution. The adsorption kinetic and thermodynamics of Cs adsorption from aqueous solutions by the sol-gel derived zirconia was studied
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