Adsorptive Removal of 90Sr and 137Cs Radionuclides by Nb-Ge Doped Titanosilicate Nanoparticles from Liquid Radioactive Waste of Tehran Research Reactor

Abstract

The Nb-Ge doped titanosilicate nanoparticles were synthesized using a hydrothermal method and their adsorptive behavior for 90Sr and 137Cs radionuclides was investigated in liquid radioactive waste of Tehran research reactor in a batch method. Crystalline phases and morphology of the synthesized samples were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) method and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) technique, respectively. Elemental analyses of the samples were performed using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technique. Surface areas of the samples were measured by the BET method. The effects of temperature, contact time, and pH of liquid radioactive waste were studied. The obtained results showed that the synthesized samples have a good potential for removal of Sr-90 and Cs-137 radioisotopes from liquid radioactive waste of Tehran research reactor and in general, for the liquid wastes treatment. The samples doped up to 25 wt% with equal amounts (50 wt%) of niobium and germanium, removed almost 98.5% of 137Cs and 86.3% of 90Sr from liquid radioactive waste of Tehran research reactor.

Keywords

• doped titanosilicate
• nb-ge
• nanoparticles
• adsorptive removal
• 90sr and 137‌cs