Adsorption of selected ions on hydrous cerium oxide

Hydrous cerium oxide was synthesized and laboratory study was conducted to address its applicability for decontamination of barium, strontium, molybdenum, europium, iodine, samarium and cesium ions from radioactive liquid wastes using radiotracer technique. The adsorption of Ba(II), Sr(II), Mo(II), Eu(II), I(I), Sm(III) and Cs(I) on hydrous cerium oxide has been investigated as a function of pH, concentration and temperature of the adsorptive solution and the result obtained show that these parameters affect the extent of adsorption. The ion-exchange capacity decreased at higher temperatures which could be due to decrease of active sites as well as hydrophilic properties of surface adsorbent. Hydrous cerium oxide shows relatively high adsorption in acidic and neutral media towards the radiotracers studied, which can be attributed to large hydrated radius and ion exclusion effect.