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Synthesis and characterization of pollucite: a low-temperature immobilization method for 137Cs

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Abstract

Aiming at radioactive cesium waste treatment, this work report a low-temperature immobilization method to convert Cs-polluted waste into pollucite. Results reveal that pollucite can be synthesized over a wide range of Cs content (36.5–53.2 wt.%) at 500 °C via the CsOH-Zeolite 4A-Silica gel system. The synthesized pollucite is composed of lamellar particles (0.8–2.5 μm) along with the agglomerates of small particles (0.1–0.3 μm) and Cs, Al, Si, O elements distribute uniformly on surface. Cs content and chemical stability analysis indicate 99.24% of Cs are immobilized and the leaching rate of Cs is on the order of 10–3 g/(m2 ·d).

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Acknowledgements

The work reported here was supported by the Fundamental Science on Nuclear Wastes and Environmental Safety Laboratory (No. 19kfhk02).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fundamental Science on Nuclear Wastes and Environmental Safety Laboratory, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Yaxin Feng

  2. Engineering Technology Center of Decommissioning and Remediation, China Institute of Atomic Energy, Beijing, 102413, People’s Republic of China

    Yaxin Feng, Yi Liu, Zhentao Zhang, Yuchuan Zhang, Zihui Ban & Zhanrong Song

  3. Key Laboratory of Radiation Physics and Technology of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064, People’s Republic of China

    Guilin Wei

  4. State Key Laboratory of Environmental-Friendly Energy Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China

    Meng Yan, Xiyang He, Yulong Miao, Beilong Yuan & Xirui Lu

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  1. Yaxin Feng
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Feng, Y., Wei, G., Liu, Y. et al. Synthesis and characterization of pollucite: a low-temperature immobilization method for 137Cs. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 332, 467–478 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-022-08736-w

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