Modification of bentonite by chelating agent for sorption of Co-60 from aqueous solution.

What is it about?

Chemisorption of Co-60 radionuclide from aqueous solution using modified bentonite clay with 8-Hydroxy quinoline, as a chelating agent, was investigated. Characterization of the modified clay was carried out using some analytical techniques. Some kinetic models were tested for the sorption process. The results indicated that the sorption process well fit pseudo-second-order model, the sorption is controlled by intra-particle diffusion mechanism, and the process is chemisorption since the value of diffusion coefficient is in the order 10-15 m2/s. Regeneration process was carried out, the results illustrated that 8HQ-Bent can be completely generated with 0.5 M HNO3.

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Why is it important?

Bentonite plays an important role in management of liquid radioactive waste. Modification of bentonite was conducted to increase its sorption properties. In this work, the modified bentonite was characterized by high sorption capacity for 60Co relative to other sorbents as compared to the state of the art in the literature, as well as it is a low cost material. The studies illustrated that the modified bentonite is an efficient sorbent media and recommended for removal of radionuclides from radioactive waste.

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