The extraction of {sup 137}Cs and {sup 89}Sr from waste simulants using pillared montmorillonite
- Texas A and M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
Two samples of a silica-pillared montmorillonite produced using 3-aminopropyltrimethoxy silane and an alumina-pillared montmorillonite were evaluated for the removal of {sup 137}Cs and {sup 89}Sr from a simulated nuclear waste solution and a simulated groundwater, and the results were compared to the parent montmorillonite and two zeolites, AW500 (chabazite) and clinoptilolite. The parent and pillared clays were characterized using x-ray powder diffraction and surface area analysis by nitrogen adsorption/desorption studies. The pillared clays exhibited d-spacings of between 17.43 and 18.32 {angstrom} after calcination, and surface areas ranging from 71.3 to 264.4 m{sup 2}/g. Both of the silica-pillared clays and the alumina-pillared clay exhibited excellent K{sub d}s for {sup 137}Cs from simulated groundwater with values of 23,650, 23,260 and 144,570 mL/g, respectively. These were far better than the K{sub d}s obtained by clinoptilolite and AW500 which had K{sub d}s of only 14,560 and 9,650 mL/g, respectively. None of the pillared clays showed a high selectivity for {sup 89}Sr from groundwater or {sup 137}Cs from simulated alkaline tank waste. They did, however, show a slight selectivity for {sup 89}Sr in the simulated Hanford tank wastes, but this is thought to be due to a precipitation mechanism rather than to ion exchange.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 653404
- Journal Information:
- Separation Science and Technology, Vol. 33, Issue 11; Other Information: PBD: Aug 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Pillared montmorillonites: Cesium-selective ion-exchange materials
Development of Inorganic Ion Exchangers for Nuclear Waste Remediation