Abstract
ABSTRACT Releasing radioactive caesium ions (Cs+) from nuclear industries into natural water bodies poses significant environmental challenges. Meanwhile, various treatment methods have been applied to mitigate the presence of this detrimental pollutant in water sources. The utilisation of adsorption technology using nanoscale materials seems to hold promising potential for reducing Cs+ levels in water resources. This research has been conducted to evaluate the caesium ions adsorption using synthesised titanate nanotubes (TNT) and titanate nanofibers (TNF) produced via the hydrothermal method under highly alkaline conditions. The XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, TGA, and Zeta-potential analysis were used to characterisation the synthesised absorbents. Adsorption of Cs+ ions on TNT and TNF based on various parameters such as contact time, pH, initial concentration, adsorbent weight, and temperature have been investigated through batch experiments. The adsorption kinetics are best described by the pseudo-second-order model, whereas the Langmuir model is more consistent with adsorption isotherms. The maximum adsorption capacity for caesium ions was determined to be 175.44 mg.g−1 and 104.17 mg.g−1 at 298 K for TNT and TNF, respectively, with 80% and 72% removal rates. The separation factor (RL) value for TNT is 0.5370, and for TNF, it is 0.6570, confirming the favourability of adsorption. Thermodynamic assessments indicate that adsorption onto both adsorbents is favourable, spontaneous, and endothermic. The physisorption is the most likely mechanism for adsorption. A comparative assessment showed that titanate nanotubes outperform titanate nanofibers in terms of caesium ion adsorption capacity and efficiency.
Published Version
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