ADSORPTION OF SAMARIUM ON ACTIVATED-CHARCOAL FROM AQUEOUS-SOLUTION

Adsorption of samarium on activated charcoal has been studied as a function of shaking time, pH, concentration of adsorbate and temperature. Wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer was used for measuring samarium concentration. Samarium adsorption obeys the Langmuir isotherm. DELTA H(o) and DELTA S(o) were calculated from the slope and intercept of plot 1nK(D) VS 1/T. The influence of different cations and anions on samarium adsorption has been examined. The adsorption of other metal ions on activated charcoal has been studied under optimum condition to check its selectivity for samarium. Consequently samarium was removed from the aqueous solutions containing Cs, Sr, Nd, Zn, Cu, Co, Rb and Pr. More than 98% of adsorbed samarium on activated charcoal can be recovered with 50 ml of 3 M HNO3 solution.