Adsorptive Removal of Cesium Ions Using Prussian Blue Immobilized Coffee Ground Biochar

Abstract

Objectives: Among various radioactive contaminants, radioactive cesium is one of the most harmful radionuclides that causes human health issues due to its high emission of gamma-ray, high solubility, high mobility, high fission yield, and long half-life. Different kinds of adsorbents have been developed for the removal of cesium from radioactive wastewater. Especially, biochar has attracted great attention as a potential adsorbent in the treatment of pollutants and for water purification. In addition, Prussian blue is a cubic lattice structure that contains a cage size similar to the hydrated cesium ionic radius, indicating it can selectively remove cesium ions. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the cesium adsorption performance of synthesized Prussian blue-immobilized coffee ground biochar (PB-CGBC) under various experimental conditions for cesium removal from radioactive wastewater. Methods: After wasted coffee ground was washed and dried, it was heated at 400℃ with 10℃/min of heating rate and 5 h of retention time in a furnace with little or no available air. The PB-CGBC was synthesized using a facile co-precipitation method. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometer, field emission-transmission electron microscope, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, and zeta potential analyzer were used to analyze physico-chemical characteristics and surface structure of the synthesized adsorbents. The kinetic and equilibrium experiments of cesium adsorption on PB-CGBC were carried out and the effect of pH, temperature, initial cesium concentration, and contact time were also investigated in a batch system. Results and Discussion: The characteristic analysis clearly confirmed the successful synthesis of PB-CGBC, indicating its abundant functional groups and special surface structure. In the batch study, it was found that the cesium adsorption onto the PB-CGBC was exothermic nature. The Elovich kinetic model and Temkin isotherm also provided a good correlation with the cesium adsorption reaction onto the PB-CGBC. The maximum adsorption capacity of PB-CGBC for cesium was 129.57 mg/g at 15℃ and pH 8 at 40 mM of an initial cesium concentration, which was one of the highest values among those of previously reported adsorbents. Conclusions: In this study, the PB-CGBC was synthesized by immobilizing Prussian blue to the surface of coffee ground biochar and successfully applied for the adsorptive removal of cesium ions. Based on the experimental results, the synthesized PB-CGBC can be served as a great adsorbent for treatment of wastewater polluted with radioactive cesium.

Keywords

• radioactive cesium
• biochar
• prussian blue
• adsorption