Brushite-infused polyacrylonitrile nanofiber adsorbent for strontium removal from water. (15th September 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Vivas, Eleazer L.; Lee, Sumin; Cho, Kuk
• Is Part Of: Journal of environmental management. Volume 270(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-09-15
• Subjects: Adsorption -- Dicalcium phosphate dihydrate -- Filtration -- PAN -- Radionuclide; Environmental policy -- Periodicals; Environmental management -- Periodicals; Environment -- Periodicals; Ecology -- Periodicals; 363.705
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110837
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0301-4797

Abstract

Abstract: The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and the decommissioning of over a hundred nuclear reactors worldwide led to the increase in the demand for efficient water treatment technologies to remove radionuclides, such as 90 Sr. Brushite or dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD) is a potential adsorbent to remove strontium from water. In this study, composite poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) nanofiber (NF) adsorbents with DCPD (PAN/DCPD) were prepared, characterized, and investigated for strontium adsorption in water. Material characterization revealed mechanically suitable, hydrophilic, and macroporous composite NF adsorbents with average fiber diameters of <500 nm. As-prepared DCPD powder exhibited a superior strontium uptake capacity of 81.7 mg g −1 at pH ≅ 10 of aqueous Sr 2+ solution over its biogenic and synthetic predecessor, hydroxyapatite. Increased DCPD loading resulted in higher adsorption. Maximum Sr 2+ uptake of PAN/DCPD NF with 70 wt% DCPD loading (PAN/70DCPD NF) was 146 mg g −1 considering the Sips isotherm model. Kinetic studies revealed that Sr 2+ removal by PAN/DCPD NF was a chemisorption process which involved ion exchange and surface complexation. PAN/70DCPD NF as a dead-end membrane filter exhibited superior removal efficiency over pure PAN NF. The overall results of this study revealed the potential application of PAN/DCPD NF adsorbent for 90 Sr removal from water. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Polyacrylonitrile/Dicalcium phosphate dihydrate nanofiber was first fabricated. PAN/DCPD NFs were highly wettable by and mechanically suitable in water. PAN/DCPD NF adsorbent exhibited good Sr 2+ uptake in water ( q max ≅ 146 mg g −1 ). PAN/DCPD NF removed at least 80% of Sr 2+ ions in water at C o ≤ 10 mg L −1 . PAN/DCPD NF can be used as a microfilter for the adsorptive filtration of 90 Sr.