Synthesis of ion exchange membrane using metal sulfide and removal of radioactive ions

Abstract

As the need for treatment of radioactive waste generated in large quantities increases, decontamination technology for radioactive waste has become significantly important. This study proposes a method of fabricating a new composite adsorbent to effectively remove cesium and strontium ions using potassium tin sulfide(KTS-3), a metal sulfide ion exchange material. We utilized the electrospinning technique to fabricate polyacrylonitrile(PAN) nanofiber support for the immobilization of the adsorbent KTS-3. Through pulverization using ball milling, KTS-3 could be evenly and firmly fixed to the PAN support that, has high permeability and large surface area. The ratio of adsorbent and the polymer was controlled to maximize the adsorption property of KTS-3, and it was thoroughly analyzed with SEM, XRD, and adsorption experiments. Consequently, we obtain a high maximum adsorption capacity of the composite adsorbent with 133 mg Cs g-1 and 30.5 mg Sr g-1. Moreover, the high adsorption capacity could be well maintained in the filtration experiments conducted at a fast flow rate of 1 mL/s.