Cadmium leaching from thermal treated and gamma irradiated Mexican aluminosilicates

Thermal and radiation effects on the leaching of cadmium from two cadmium exchanged zeolitic tuffs and one clay were determined. The cadmium exchanged aluminosilicates were heated at different temperatures (500, 700, 900 and 1100 °C), and the materials were then treated with NaCl (1 M and 5 M) and HNO3 (0.001 M and 1 M) solutions to determine the leaching behaviour of cadmium from the materials. The stability of cadmium in the materials increased as the heating temperature was increased. Cadmium leaching from gamma irradiated and heated materials at 1100 °C was higher than leaching from non-irradiated samples.