Effective uptake of decontaminating agent (citric acid) from aqueous solution by mesoporous and microporous materials: An adsorption process

The presence of citric acid in decontamination waste can cause complexation of the radioactive cations resulting in interferences in their removal by various treatment processes such as chemical precipitation, ion-exchange, etc., which are employed for the removal of radioactivity and may cause potential danger to the environment. Mesoporous Al-MCM-41 (Si/Al = 30, 51, 72 and 97) and Si-MCM-41 molecular sieves were synthesized hydrothermally and characterized by XRD, BET (surface area) and FT-IR to evaluate the removal of citric acid through an adsorption process. Adsorption of citric acid over Al-MCM-41 shows the applicability of Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm and follows first order kinetics. The effects of contact time, concentration of citric acid, adsorbents (various Si/Al ratios of Al-MCM-41, Si-MCM-41, Hβ zeolite and commercial carbon) and pH have been investigated. It has been found that the amount of citric acid adsorbed per unit gram of catalyst followed the order Al-MCM-41 (Si/Al = 30) > Al-MCM-41 (Si/Al = 51) > activated charcoal > Al-MCM-41 (Si/Al = 72) > Al-MCM-41 (Si/Al = 97) > Si-MCM-41 > Hβ zeolite.