Solar driven enhanced adsorption of radioactive Cs+ and Sr2+ from nuclear wastewater by chitosan-based aerogel embedded with prussian blue analog

Na Yang; Xu Guo; Jing Yu; Qi Liu; Jingyuan Liu; Jiahui Zhu; Rongrong Chen; Jun Wang

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136955

Solar driven enhanced adsorption of radioactive Cs⁺ and Sr²⁺ from nuclear wastewater by chitosan-based aerogel embedded with prussian blue analog

J Hazard Mater. 2024 Dec 20:485:136955. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136955. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Na Yang¹, Xu Guo², Jing Yu³, Qi Liu⁴, Jingyuan Liu¹, Jiahui Zhu¹, Rongrong Chen¹, Jun Wang⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China.
² School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China.
³ College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China; Nanhai Institute of Harbin Engineering University, Sanya 572024, China. Electronic address: jing.yu@hrbeu.edu.cn.
⁴ College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China; Nanhai Institute of Harbin Engineering University, Sanya 572024, China.
⁵ College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China; Nanhai Institute of Harbin Engineering University, Sanya 572024, China. Electronic address: zhqw1888@sohu.com.

PMID: 39718081
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136955

Abstract

The rational use of solar energy to achieve photothermal conversion is an attractive strategy to promote the efficient removal of radioactive Cs⁺ and Sr²⁺ from nuclear wastewater. Herein, a photothermal adsorbent of composite aerogel with three-dimensional porous structure is fabricated by integrating prussian blue analogues (PBAs) and straw biochar into the chitosan (CS) and waste leather scrap hydrolysate (WLSH) aerogel matrix (CS/WLSH/C/PBAs). The local heating effect generated by CS/WLSH/C/PBAs aerogel induce to generate steam, accelerating the enrichment of Cs⁺ and Sr²⁺ in the solution, which increase their interaction with the CS/WLSH/C/PBAs and improves their adsorption rates and capacities. Under simulated sunlight, the adsorption equilibrium times for Cs⁺ and Sr²⁺ by CS/WLSH/C/PBAs are shortened from 5 h in the dark condition to 2 h, with maximum adsorption capacities of 156.0 and 95.1 mg/g for Cs⁺ and Sr²⁺, respectively. Meanwhile, the CS/WLSH/C/PBAs aerogel also exhibits excellent reusability. Notably, the Cs⁺ and Sr²⁺ still can be efficiently removed in simulated seawater. Encouragingly, the CS/WLSH/C/PBAs aerogel also exhibits excellent adsorption properties for dyes and oils. This work provides insights for the design of multifunctional and efficient composite adsorbents, and paving a promising way for enhancing the adsorption of Cs⁺ and Sr²⁺ through solar energy.

Keywords: Adsorption; Chitosan aerogel; Cs(+) and Sr(2+); Photothermal conversion; Prussian blue analog.