Synthesis of Adsorbent Fixed with Prussian Blue Based by Illite and Adsorption of Soluble Radioactive Cesium (137Cs)

Abstract

Prussian blue (PB) is a selective and highly adsorptive material for cesium. However, it is difficult to recover after adsorption and there is a possibility of secondary environmental pollution. In this study, the surface of illite powder was modified by using acrylic acid (AA) as a crosslinking agent for stable fixation of PB to illite powder. The aim of this study was development of adsorbent with stabilized PB at illite using AA (AA-illte-PB). In XRD analysis and FT-IR analysis results of AA-illte-PB, PB characteristic peak was founded. Those results show presence of PB in AA-illte-PB. TGA analysis was performed to confirm the polymer and PB content of the adsorbent. It was judged that AA was effectively synthesized on the surface of illite modified with AA (AA-illte) through the SEM (EDS) analysis. The PB adsorption performance of AA-illte-PB was evaluated after pretreatment of NaCl for immobilization of PB on AA-illte surface. In the case of AA-illte-PB pretreated with NaCl, the maximum adsorption amount of cesium was 5.09 mg/g and the maximum adsorption amount of cesium in AA-illte-PB without NaCl pretreatment was 2.01 mg/g. Also, results of cesium adsorption analysis using 137Cs standard source solution showed 99% removal rate for AA-illte-PB pretreated with NaCl and 88% for AA-illte-PB un-pretreated with NaCl. The efficiency of AA-illte-PB pretreated with NaCl found to be effective for cesium adsorption. UV-vis analysis was performed to identify the desorbeed PB during washing. Illite attached with PB without AA (illite-PB) was detached from a large amount of PB through 5 washes. AA-illte-PB showed a small amount of PB desorbed by the first wash. As a result, an adsorbent with stable PB immobilization was developed. Key words: Cesium, Adsorption, Desorption, Prussian Blue, Illite