Adsorption of Cesium, Strontium, and Rubidium radionuclides in the Mag-molecular process: The influence of important factors

Abstract

In this study, the adsorption of cesium, strontium, and rubidium radionuclides by ferritin magmolecules in a batch system was investigated under different experimental conditions. The experiments were conducted in a pilot plant that involved the contactor unit and the magnetic separator unit. The impact of the pollutant concentrations, adsorbent concentration, and pH on the efficiency of the process were investigated thoroughly. The maximum recovery of radionuclides in the studied domain were 57.05%, 85.42% and 71.82% for Cs+, Sr2+ and Rb+ ,respectively, in which the pollutant concentration was 363.63 mg/l, the adsorbent concentration was 0.011 g/l, and the pH was 7.5. The results showed that the ferritin adsorbent in the magmolecular process manifested a higher efficiency in adsorbing the bivalent ions of strontium compared to the univalent ions of cesium and rubidium. Furthermore, the results were statistically analyzed and the model and residual plots of each radionuclide were presented. The results also signified  relationships between the independent variables and recovery.