Separation of iodine using neem oil-cashew nut shell liquid based-phenol formaldehyde resin modified lignocellulosic biomatrices: Batch and column study

Abstract

BackgroundManagement and separation of radioactive iodine from wastewater of nuclear power plants is time-dependent and needs lot of efforts. Changes of surface chemistry due to radioactive irradiations are the major issue for developing an efficient adsorbent for separation of radionuclei from wastewater. MethodsThis article presented a promising case of separation of non-radioactive iodine from aqueous solution using neem oil phenolic resin treated lignocellulosic biomass. The resin was prepared with some ingredients with known properties of radiation absorption. FindingsThe data pointed that the treated biomass has the efficacy of iodine separation from aqueous solution within wide range of pH. The iodine sorption followed the Langmuir isotherm indicating a monolayer surface adsorption reaction. The maximum iodine removal efficacy of the resin treated biomass was 3.64 mg/g. The iodine adsorption was found to follow the pseudo second order reaction. The kinetic analysis also indicated that both surface adsorption and intraparticle diffusion were likely to control the rate of iodine-adsorbent. The treated adsorbent also showed iodine removal efficacy in column mode. The resin used for the treatment of lignocellulosic biomass was prepared using cashew nut shell liquid and phenol-formaldehyde that are known for their radiation adsorption and antioxidant properties. Thus, neem oil cashew nut shell liquid containing phenol formaldehyde resin treated biomass is expected to be stable under radioactive radiation. As radioactive iodine generation is a common phenomenon for nuclear power plant the bio-based chemical modified lignocellulosic adsorbent could be a promising alternative. However, more detail investigations with radioactive iodine containing real wastewater from nuclear power plant is needed for validation of our statement.