Removal of cesium ions from clays by cationic surfactant intercalation.

We propose a new approach to remediate cesium-contaminated clays based on intercalation of the cationic surfactant dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) into clay interlayers. Intercalation of DTAB was found to occur very rapidly and involved exchanging interlayer cations. The reaction yielded efficient cesium desorption (∼97%), including of a large amount of otherwise non-desorbable cesium ions by cation exchange with ammonium ions. In addition, the intercalation of DTAB afforded an expansion of the interlayers, and an enhanced desorption of Cs by cation exchange with ammonium ions even at low concentrations of DTAB. Finally, the residual intercalated surfactants were easily removed by a decomposition reaction with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of Cu2+/Fe2+ catalysts.

Copper Ferrocyanide-Functionalized Magnetic Adsorbents Using Polyethyleneimine Coated Fe3O4 Nanoparticles for the Removal of Radioactive Cesium.

Copper ferrocyanide-functionalized magnetic nano-adsorbents were successfully synthesized by electrostatic coating of citric acid coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles with polyethyleneimine, and immobilizing copper and ferrocyanide on the surfaces of polyethyleneimine-coated nanoparticles. Radioactive cesium (Cs) adsorption tests were conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the copper ferrocyanide-functionalized magnetic nano-adsorbents toward the removal of radioactive Cs.

Novel application of nanozeolite for radioactive cesium removal from high-salt wastewater.

Finding a striking peculiarity of nanomaterials and evaluating its feasibility for practical use are interesting topics of research. We investigated the application of nanozeolite's outstanding reactivity for a rapid and effective method for radioactive cesium removal in the wastewater generated from nuclear power plant accident, as a new concept. Extremely fast removal of cesium, even without stirring, was achieved by the nanozeolite at efficiencies never observed with bulk materials. The nanozeolite reached an adsorption equilibrium state within 1 min. Cesium adsorption by nanozeolite was demonstrated at reaction rates of orders of magnitude higher than that of larger zeolite phases. This observation was strongly supported by the positive correlation between the rate constant ratio (k2,bulk/k2,nano) and the initial Cs concentrations with a correlation coefficient (R(2)) of 0.99. A potential drawback of a nanoadsorbent is the difficulty of particle settling and separation because of its high dispersivity in solution. However, our results also demonstrated that the nanozeolite could be easily precipitated from the high-salt solution with ferric flocculant. The flocculation index reached a steady state within 10 min. A series of our experimental results met the goal of rapid processing in the case of emergency by applying the well-suited nanozeolite adsorption and flocculation.

Equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic study of cesium adsorption onto nanocrystalline mordenite from high-salt solution.

In this study, the equilibrium, kinetics and thermodynamics of cesium adsorption by nanocrystalline mordenite were investigated under cesium contamination with high-salt solution, simulating the case of an operation and decommissioning of nuclear facilities or an accident during the processes. The adsorption rate constants were determined using a pseudo second-order kinetic model. The kinetic results strongly demonstrated that the cesium adsorption rate of nano mordenite is extremely fast, even in a high-salt solution, and much faster than that of micro mordenite. In the equilibrium study, the Langmuir isotherm model fit the cesium adsorption data of nano mordenite better than the Freundlich model, which suggests that cesium adsorption onto nano mordenite is a monolayer homogeneous adsorption process. The obtained thermodynamic parameters indicated that the adsorption involved a very stable chemical reaction. In particular, the combination of rapid particle dispersion and rapid cesium adsorption of the nano mordenite in the solution resulted in a rapid and effective process for cesium removal without stirring, which may offer great advantages for low energy consumption and simple operation.

Copper Ferrocyanide-Functionalized Magnetic Nanoparticles for the Selective Removal of Radioactive Cesium.

Copper ferrocyanide-functionalized magnetite nanoparticles (Cu-FC-MNPs) were successfully synthesized by immobilizing copper and ferrocyanide on the surfaces of [1-(2 amino-ethyl)-3-aminopropyl] trimethoxysilane-modified magnetite nanoparticles. Radioactive cesium (Cs) adsorption tests were conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the Cu-FC-MNPS toward the removal of radioactive Cs. The Cu-FC-MNPs showed excellent separation properties using an external magnet in an aqueous solution.

Succinate Functionalization of Hyperbranched Polyglycerol-Coated Magnetic Nanoparticles as a Draw Solute During Forward Osmosis.

Hyperbranched polyglycerol-coated magnetic nanoparticles (SHPG-MNPs) were functionalized with succinate groups to form a draw solute for use in a forward osmosis (FO). After the one-step synthesis of hyperbranched polyglycerol-coated magnetic nanoparticles (HPG-MNPs), the polyglycerol groups on the surfaces of the HPG-MNPs were functionalized with succinic anhydride moieties. The resulting SHPG-MNPs showed no change of size and magnetic property compared with HPG-MNPs and displayed excellent dispersibility in water up to the concentration of 400 g/L. SHPG-MNPs solution showed higher osmotic pressure than that of HPG-MNPs solution due to the presence of surface carboxyl groups in SHPG-MNPs and could draw water from a feed solution across an FO membrane without any reverse draw solute leakage during FO process. Moreover, the water flux remained nearly constant over several SHPG-MNP darw solute regeneration cycles applied to the ultrafiltration (UF) process. The SHPG-MNPs demonstrate strong potential for use as a draw solute in FO processes.

Removal of Radioactive Cesium Using Prussian Blue Magnetic Nanoparticles.

Radioactive cesium (137Cs) has inevitably become a human concern due to exposure from nuclear power plants and nuclear accident releases. Many efforts have been focused on removing cesium and the remediation of the contaminated environment. In this study, we elucidated the ability of Prussian blue-coated magnetic nanoparticles to eliminate cesium from radioactive contaminated waste. Thus, the obtained Prussian blue-coated magnetic nanoparticles were then characterized and examined for their physical and radioactive cesium adsorption properties. This Prussian blue-coated magnetic nanoparticle-based cesium magnetic sorbent can offer great potential for use in in situ remediation.

Evaluation of the stability of uranyl peroxo-carbonato complex ions in carbonate media at different temperatures.

This work studied the stability of peroxide in uranyl peroxo carbonato complex ions in a carbonate solution with hydrogen peroxide using absorption and Raman spectroscopies, and evaluated the temperature dependence of the decomposition characteristics of uranyl peroxo carbonato complex ions in the solution. The uranyl peroxo carbonato complex ions self-decomposed more rapidly into uranyl tris-carbonato complex ions in higher temperature carbonate solutions. The concentration of peroxide in the solution without free hydrogen peroxide represents the concentration of uranyl peroxo carbonato complex ions in a mixture of uranyl peroxo carbonato complex and uranyl tris-carbonato complex ions. The self-decomposition of the uranyl peroxo carbonato complex ions was a first order reaction, and its activation energy was evaluated to be 7.144×10(3) J mol(-1). The precipitation of sodium uranium oxide hydroxide occurred when the amount of uranyl tris-carbonato complex ions generated from the decomposition of the uranyl peroxo carbonato complex ions exceeded the solubility of uranyl tris-carbonato ions in the solution at the solution temperature.

Effects of the different conditions of uranyl and hydrogen peroxide solutions on the behavior of the uranium peroxide precipitation.

The dynamic precipitation characteristics of UO(4) in different solution conditions (pH, ionic strength, uranium and H(2)O(2) concentrations) were characterized by measuring changes in the absorbance of the precipitation solution and by monitoring the change of particle size in a circulating particle size analyzer. The precipitation solution conditions affected the precipitation characteristics such as the induction time, precipitation rate, overall precipitation time, and particle size in a complex manner. With increases in both pH and ionic strength, the induction time was prolonged, and the individual particle size decreased, but the individual particles tended to grow by aggregation to form larger precipitates. The uranium concentration and the ionic strength of the solution affected the induction time and precipitation rate to the greatest extent.