Role of magnetite and humic acid in radionuclide migration in the environment

Sorption of 137Cs, 90Sr, 154Eu and 141Ce by magnetite has been studied at varying pH (4 to 11) in the presence and absence of humic acid. The sorption studies have also been carried out at varying ionic strength (0.01 to 0.2 M NaClO4) and humic acid concentration (2 to 20 mg/L). Percentage sorption of 137Cs and 90Sr was found to be pH dependent, with the sorption increasing with increasing pH of the suspension. At any pH, the percentage sorption of 90Sr was higher than that of 137Cs. The results have been explained in terms of the electrostatic interaction between the positively charged metal ions and the surface charge of the magnetite which becomes increasingly negative with increasing pH. On the other hand, 154Eu and 141Ce were found to be strongly sorbed by the magnetite at all pH values, with the sorption being independent of pH. The strong sorption of trivalent and tetravalent metal ions suggests the role of complexation reactions during sorption, apart from the electrostatic interactions. However, in the case of 141Ce surface precipitation of Ce(III) formed by reduction of Ce(IV) in the presence of magnetite cannot be ruled out. Presence of humic acid (2 mg/L) was found to have negligible effect on sorption of all metal ions.