Recovery of 137Cs, 90Sr, 90Y, and d-element ions from aqueous solutions with sorbents containing triethylenediamine

Abstract

The possibility of using sorbents based on KSKG coarsely porous silica gel and containing triethylenediamine N(CH2-CH2)3N (TEDA) for recovering 137Cs, 90Sr, 90Y, and d-element ions (Cu2+, Ni2+) from aqueous solutions was examined. Both 90Sr, 90Y radionuclides and Cu2+, Ni2+ ions are sorbed on KSKG containing 0.01–6.72 wt % TEDA. However, on sorbents based on KSKG and containing complexes of Cu2+, Ni2+, and Zn2+ nitrates with TEDA, the 137Cs, 90Sr, and 90Y radionuclides are not sorbed. The equilibrium in the systems with these sorbents is attained within 3 h. The sorption capacity for Cu2+ and Ni2+ strongly depends on the conditions of the sorbent synthesis. The capacity of the sorbents for Cu2+ varies from 63 to 320 mg of metal per gram of sorbent. For Ni2+, the sorption capacity is considerably lower (no more than 130 mg of Ni2+ per gram of sorbent). The distribution coefficients of 90Sr and 90Y are 300–700 ml g−1 at the contact time of the solid and liquid phases of 96 h and V/m = 100 ml g−1.