Desorption of 137Cs+ from mosses

Abstract

Mosses are biomonitors that accumulate large amounts of various pollutants, including radionuclides. In this work we investigated the possibility of 137Cs extraction from mosses, as well as the significance of species specificity on the efficiency of 137Cs desorption. Salt and acid solutions were used as extraction media. It was shown that a 5 % solution of both ammonium oxalate and phosphoric acid was able to desorb 81.8 % of 137Cs+ from Homalothecium sericeum, which was 39.9 % more than desorption from water. At the same time, most of the desorbed 137Cs+ was incorporated in crystals that precipitated from the solution. An interspecies difference in respect to 137Cs+ desorption was noticed.

Keywords

• moss
• 137Cs+
• extraction