Abstract
With the speedy growth of nuclear power production, the removal and disposal of radioactive nuclides such as
I,
Tc,
Se,
Cl,
Mo, and
Cs become major environmental security issues. Retention of these radionuclides, especially anionic species such as
I (t
1.7 × 10
years),
Mo (t
4 × 10
years) and
Se (t
3.27 × 10
years) has been challenging.
I,
Mo and
Se bind very weakly to most sorbents and deposits. This study has examined the sorption potential of Metal hydroxide sludge (MHS) for
I (t
60.2 days),
Mo (t
2.75 days) and
Se (t
120 days) as a surrogate for
I,
Mo and
Se, respectively. MHS has been characterized by different techniques and the factors affecting the sorption processes were investigated. The experimental data were analyzed using kinetic models and thermodynamic parameters. The results showed that the kinetics of sorption of
I and
Mo on MHS proceeds according to the pseudo-first-order, on the contrary of
Se sorption follows pseudo second-order kinetic model. The maximum sorption capacity of MHS was found to be 51.2 mg/g, 46.5 mg/g and 40.2 mg/g for
I,
Mo and
Se, respectively. It can be concluded that, in the case of release of anionic radionuclide species to the surroundings the MHS could act as a succeeded and economical sorbent material for retention of different anionic radionuclides such as
I,
Se,
Cl,
Mo, and
Tc. To avoid the release of such anionic species from the stored nuclear wastes to the environment.