Abstract
Efficient removal of radioactive cesium from complex wastewater is a challenge. Unlike traditional precipitation and hydrothermal synthesis, a novel vast specific surface area adsorbent of copper hexacyanoferrates named EA-CuHCF was synthesized using a one-pot solvothermal method under the moderate ethanol media characterized by XRD, SEM, EDS, BET, and FTIR. It was found that the maximum adsorption capacity towards Cs+ was 452.5 mg/g, which is far higher than most of the reported Prussian blue analogues so far. Moreover, EA-CuHCF could effectively adsorb Cs+ at a wide pH range and low concentration of Cs+ in geothermal water within 30 minutes, and the removal rate of Cs+ was 92.1%. Finally, the separation factors between Cs+ and other competitive ions were higher than 553, and the distribution coefficient of Cs+ reached up to 2.343 × 104 mL/g. These properties suggest that EA-CuHCF synthesized by the solvothermal method has high capacity and selectivity and can be used as a candidate for Cs+ removal from wastewater.
Highlights
Nuclear power plays a significant role in transitioning the energy supply [1]
The tested temperatures had little influence on adsorption capacity, and generally, the materials synthesized at higher temperatures presented relatively better adsorption performance
Adsorption isotherm results indicated the maximum adsorption capacity reached up to 452.5 mg/g, which was much higher than most reported Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) absorbents
Summary
Nuclear power plays a significant role in transitioning the energy supply [1]. the accidental leakage of the nuclear power plant could cause considerable harm to humans [2,3,4]. 137Cs is one of the most dangerous isotopes. MHCFs, known as Prussian blue (PB) or Prussian blue analogues (PBAs), presented superior selectivity and adsorption capacity due to their unique cesium affinity [13, 26,27,28,29,30,31,32]. This family of compounds is low cost, chemically stable, and low toxicity, so they have been extensively investigated. The effects of pH, contact time, temperature, competitive ions, and initial concentration on the adsorption performance were investigated systematically, while XRD, SEM, FTIR, and BET were conducted to reveal the structure and surface properties. e results indicated EA-CuHCF could be considered as a promising candidate for 137Cs removal from wastewater
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