Preparation of activated carbon from doum stone and its application on adsorption of 60 Co and 152+154 Eu: Equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic studies

• Published in: Journal of environmental radioactivity 2016-11, Vol.164, p.113
• Main Authors: Hamed, Mostafa M, Ali, M M S, Holiel, M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adsorption; Charcoal - chemistry; Cobalt Radioisotopes - chemistry; Europium - chemistry; Kinetics; Thermodynamics; Water Pollutants, Chemical - chemistry; Water Pollutants, Radioactive - chemistry
• ISSN: 1879-1700
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2016.07.005

Removal of radionuclides from wastewater before discharging to environment is necessary for the safety of living beings. Activated carbon prepared from doum stone (DS), an agricultural waste by-product, has been used for the sorption of Co and Eu radionuclides from aqueous solutions. DS has been characterized by different analytical tools. The efficiency of the adsorbent was investigated using batch sorption technique under different experimental conditions. The equilibrium sorption data were analyzed using Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models. The kinetic experimental data were analyzed using four kinetic models including pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, Elovich and intraparticle diffusion model to examine the mechanism of sorption and potential rate-controlling step. The maximum capacity of DS was found to be 121 mg/g and 166 mg/g for cobalt and europium, respectively. Sorption efficiency of DS to remove Co, Eu and Cs from real radioactive wastewater and environmental (river water and sea water) samples was also investigated. The results revealed that the prepared DS as low cost could be used as a promising material for the simultaneous removal of different radionuclides such as Co, Eu and Cs, or trivalent actinides such as Am from real radioactive waste and environmental water samples.