Studies on the uptake of cesium by gel [KMg₃(Si₃AIO₁₀)F₂] ordinary portland cement admixtures

Abstract

Sorption capacity of admixtures of hydrothermal gel close to [KMg₃(Si₃AIO₁₀)F₂] and ordinary portland cement (OPC) for Cs has been investigated at room temperature. The gel containing admixtures exhibit selective Cs uptake while OPC alone adsorbs negligible amount of radioactive Cs. Selectivity of the gel-OPC admixtures for Cs has been examined in presence of 500 times concentrated solution of competing cations: Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺ ,Ba²⁺ ,Ca²⁺. The data suggests that the gel-OPC admixtures exhibit good Cs retention capacity. Large cations like K⁺ and Ba²⁺ are found to be more competing than Na⁺ and Mg²⁺ which have comparatively smaller ionic radii.