Application of nanomaterials in the radioactive wastewater treatment

Radioactive pollution can cause serious ecological and environmental issues, and thus the appropriate treatment of the radioactive wastewater is in urgent demand for the environmental safety in China. The development of efficient technologies and materials is of great significance for the radioactive wastewater treatment. In recent decades, the nanomaterials, which has drawn more and more attention due to their unique physical-chemical properties, have been gradually used in the treatment of the radioactive wastewater and shown a good potential. This paper reviewed the research progress of the nanomaterial usage in the treatment of the radioactive wastewater, and summarized the properties and the application of nanomaterials as absorbent and membrane materials to remove the radioactive ions from wastewater. On one hand, nanomaterials with high specific surface area, which were fresh new adsorbents bearing numerous active sites and nanopores, can efficiently treat radioactive wastewater by adsorption. On the other hand, a variety of nanomaterials can be used as raw materials or additives in the membrane fabrication to increase the variety of raw materials and the regulatory dimensions and thus to improve traditional membranes by enhancing the removal efficiency of radionuclides from the wastewater. Finally, the screen criteria of appropriate nanomaterials for radioactive wastewater treatment was concluded, and several problems related to the application of nanomaterials in radioactive wastewater treatment were discussed. © 2020, Chemical Industry Press. All right reserved.