Rapid removal of Sr2+, Cs+ and UO22+ from solution with surfactant and amino acid modified zeolite Y

Abstract

In this study, a new and efficient sorbent material was developed by the surface modification of zeolite Y with surfactant of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and amino acid of l -aspartic acid (Asp) for rapid removal of Sr 2+ , Cs + and UO 2 2+ in solution. The as-synthesized and modified zeolite Y were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis. The results showed that after first grafting the cations of CTAB on the external surface of zeolite Y crystals, negatively charged Asp was then successfully introduced onto zeolite to form the CTAB + Asp dually modified zeolite Y sorbent. The fraction of CTAB and Asp in dually modified zeolite Y is 9.6 wt % and 16.3 wt %, respectively. The sorption isotherm of UO 2 2+ , Sr 2+ and Cs + by such sorbent was better fitted by Langmuir model. The CTAB + Asp dually modified zeolite Y took 20 min to reach the maximum sorption amount, while the unmodified zeolite Y took 240 min. This encouraging result provides a new concept to design sorbent materials for rapid removal of radionuclides from contaminated water system in an emergency. • Comprehensive investigation on modified zeolite Y for radioactive cation removal. • Zeolite Y is successfully modified with CTAB and aspartic acid on the surface. • Aspartic acid modified zeolite Y has a rapid removal efficiency for nuclide cation.