(208c) Metal-Hexacyanoferrate Based Nanoadsorbents for the Removal of Radioactive Cesium from Seawater | AIChE

(208c) Metal-Hexacyanoferrate Based Nanoadsorbents for the Removal of Radioactive Cesium from Seawater

Authors 

Yang, H. M. - Presenter, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute
Park, C. W., Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute
Lee, K. W., Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute
Although the nuclear power has been proposed as an alternative to thermal power due to the concern over global warming, it is also perceived as a threat due to the potential for the uncontrolled release of radionuclides. For example, the nuclear accident at Japan in 2011 released a huge quantity of radioactive contaminants into the environment. Among these, 137Cs is the most problematic contaminant due to its long half-life (30.2 years) and high-energy gamma ray emissions. Although various types of adsorbents such as zeolites, crystalline silicotitanate have been already developed, these adsorbents are either expensive or inefficient for large-scale remediation due to their low Cs selectivity. Alternatively, transition-metal hexacyanoferrates including Prussian blue, have been effectively used to remove 137Cs after Chernobyl nuclear accident due to their low cost and high selectivity for Cs. In recent years, various Prussian blue-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles have been reported for the efficient removal of Cs and magnetic recovery of adsorbent after use. However, Cs removal in seawater remains a large challenge due to high salt concentrations, and since the sorption capacity of PB for Cs is less than the sorption capacities of other metal (such as Cu, Ni, Co, and Zn)-hexacynoferrates.
To overcome these shortcomings, in the present study, various metal hexacyanoferrate-functionalized nanoadsorbents having enhanced colloidal stability in seawater were fabricated for the treatment of contaminated seawater. The resulting a few nanoadsorbents exhibited excellent adsorption capacity for Cs and also showed excellent removal efficiency of radioactive cesium (137Cs) from contaminated seawater.