Removal of strontium ions from aqueous solution using hybrid membranes: Kinetics and thermodynamics

The removal of radionuclide from radioactive wastewater has captured much attention. Strontium-90 is one of the major radionuclides. To develop a new type of adsorbents to remove strontium ions from the radioactive wastewater, in this study, novel hybrid membranes were prepared and characterized. The adsorption kinetics, thermodynamic parameters of ΔG, ΔH and ΔS, as well as surface SEM and EDS images were used to investigate the removal of strontium ions from stimulated radioactive wastewater using the previously prepared hybrid membranes as efficient adsorbents. The study of kinetic model confirmed that the adsorption of strontium ions on these hybrid membranes followed the Lagergren pseudo-second order model. Moreover, it was proved that the adsorption of strontium ions on these samples was solely controlled by intraparticle diffusion. The negative values of ΔG and the positive values of ΔH indicated that the adsorption of strontium ions on samples A–D is a spontaneous and endothermic process in nature. Furthermore, surface SEM and DES images give significant evidence to confirm the existence of strontium ions on the surface of the adsorbed samples. These findings demonstrate that these hybrid membranes are promising adsorbents for the removal of strontium ions from aqueous solution and can be potentially applied in the adsorptive separation of radionuclides from the radioactive wastewater.

Graphical abstractThe surface SEM and EDS images of the adsorbed sample A showed that strontium ions have been absorbed on the surface of the prepared hybrid membranes. Such findings demonstrate that these hybrid membranes can be potentially applied in the separation and disposal of radionuclides from the radioactive wastewater.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide