Separation of anthropogenic radionuclides from aqueous environment using raw and modified biosorbents.

In this study, two types of biosorbents were used to remove 137Cs and plutonium isotopes from aqueous solutions - moss (Ptilium crista - castrensis) and oak sawdust (Quercus robur), both in the form of natural and modified state. Sorbent modification significantly increases the sorbent surface area (for moss sorbents - from 4.0 to 47.2 m2/g, and for sawdust sorbents - from 1.1 to 26.3 m2/g), pore volume (from 10-3 to 10-2), concentration and amount of basic cations and anions, as well as active functional groups on the sorbent surface. The main functional groups on the surface of natural sorbents modified with iron hydroxide interacting with analytes are carboxyl and hydroxyl groups. For carbonized sawdust and its subsequent activation with concentrated HCl, in addition to carboxyl and hydroxyl groups, acetyl groups also become active. Carbonated sawdust treated with HCl showed the highest average removal efficiency and sorption capacity for radiocesium and plutonium isotopes in laboratory column experiments - for 137Cs ∼78.6% and ∼196.6 Bq/g and for 239+240Pu ∼83% and ∼41.5 Bq/g, respectively. The moss and moss modified with iron hydroxide also showed good properties of adsorbing plutonium isotopes in field (in-situ) experiments. The best results on the sorption of 137Cs in field experiments were shown by carbonated sawdust activated with HCl, and for isotopes of plutonium - the raw moss and moss modified with iron hydroxide. The results of the study showed that sorbents can be used not only for purification of water from plutonium isotopes but allow the operational sampling and more accurate measurement of radiocesium and plutonium isotopes in the fresh water reservoirs by the dynamic flow method.

Thermogravimetric analysis - a powerful tool for the refinement of the synthesis process of Hg-based superconductors.

The paper presents the results of studies on thermogravimetric (TG) characterization of precursors and Hg-based superconductors synthesized by the sol-gel method. TG experiments were performed in an oxygen flow in order to understand the decomposition mechanisms of the fabricated gels and to determine the synthesis temperature of the intermediate precursors for the HgBa(2)CaCu(2)O(6+delta), HgBa(2)Ca(2)Cu(3)O(8+delta), and Hg(1-x)Tl(x)Ba(2)Ca(2)Cu(3)O(8+delta) superconductors. The optimum annealing temperature for a desired oxygen content in the superconducting compounds has been established by thermogravimetric measurements. To assist the interpretation of the obtained results the elemental analyses of the synthesized products were performed by AAS and EDS (SEM) methods.