60Co-traces sorption in the presence of Fe(III)-59Fe in aqueous solutions by banana husk ash obtained through solution combustion process at different temperatures

• Published in: Desalination and water treatment 2019-10, Vol.164, p.185-191
• Main Authors: López-González, H., Olguín, M.T., Bulbulian, S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 59Fe; 60Co; Ash; Banana-husk; Fe(III); Sorption
• ISSN: 1944-3986
• DOI: 10.5004/dwt.2019.24387

Milled banana husk, was subjected to a fast solution combustion process at different temperatures (200–900°C) to obtain ashes with determined adsorptive properties to remove radioactive pollutants from aqueous media generated by the nuclear industry. Particularly, in this work, the ashes were used to adsorb traces of 60Co in presence of macro quantities of Fe(III) labeled with 59Fe to follow the sorption in aqueous solution taking account the radiotoxicity of 60Co and the abundance of no-radio-active Fe in the environment. For this purpose, dried banana husk (BHN) was first mixed with urea, ammonium nitrate and deionized water; then, the mixture was heated for 5 min in an oven from 200 to 900°C under standard atmospheric conditions. The obtained materials were characterized by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), BET analysis (BET). For the sorption experimentation, the ashes samples were in contact with 60Co in traces levels and Fe(III)-59Fe aqueous solutions (300 or 700 mg/L). The mixtures were shaken and centrifuged to separate the phases. The 60Co and 59Fe activities in the liquid were determined by using a Hyperpure Germanium detector and selecting the 1.173 MeV and 1.099 MeV energies, respectively. It was found that the ash obtained at 900°C showed the highest adsorption for 60Co (1.43 mg/g) in the presence of 300 ppm of Fe(III)-59Fe. This ash sample presents the highest specific surface area and contains sylvite, calicinite and dolomite as the principal mineral components. The chemical species of iron could be involved as a carrier for 60Co in the sorption process.