Ultra-fast adsorption of radioactive technetium (99mTc) by using mining waste clay samples, Abu-Tartur, Egypt

Abstract

Abstract In this study, we have opened a great route to fabricate a high-performance nanocomposite for various functional applications based on the composite of a natural stone. A clay sample (black shale (B.Sh)) was collected from the Abu-Tartur area in Egypt. The black shale was organically modified with organic materials in our laboratory, which is called organo-black shale (O-B.Sh). The samples were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, and XRF. These techniques confirmed that the samples have multi-oxide phases with approximately SiO2 at 54.1%, Al2O3 at 24.73%, Fe2O3 at 6.02%, K2O at 1.12%, MgO at 1.09%, and Na2O of 0.09%, as calculated by XRF. The two samples were applied to the adsorption processes of the radioactive technetium materials, which have been used for the medical treatment of the cancer institute of Upper Egypt. The adsorption processes were performed at various concentrations of the radioactive material and various amounts of clay samples. The as-collected B.Sh sample showed an adsorption activity of 65%, however, the organically modified materials showed a high adsorption rate toward technetium reaches to 100% in a very short time and without any further process. The present collected materials are very promising to withdraw the radioactive materials from the saline solution to save human and environmental health. We believe these multi-compound composites may open a new approach for creating new fabric composites with high performance for various applications.