Sorption behavior of cesium, strontium and americium ions on clay materials

The sorption behavior of Cs, Sr and Am ions on loams, which is widely distributed in Tohoku district of Japan, was studied under static and flowing conditions. The measurements of ion distribution ratios, which span a range of nearly three orders of magnitude, were fitted to Freundlich or Langmuir isotherms and the sorption parameters of isotherm equations were determined. It was found that the sorption of these ions on loams is due to the ionic exchange with Na, Ca and Mg ions of the loams. Analyzing the breakthrough curve of Cs ion sorption on a loam sorbent yielded 0.2 s-1 and 0.32 cm for values of the overall mass transfer coefficient and of the length of adsorption zone, respectively. (author)