Biosorptive behavior of some dead biomasses in the removal of Sr(85+89) from aqueous solutions

Biosorptive behavior of some dead biomasses (viz., bark of Azadirachta indica and Mangifera indica and rice hulls) was assessed for the removal of an important fission fragment, Sr(II) ions from aqueous solutions using radiotracer technique. Single batch experiments revealed that the increase in sorptive concentration (1.0 x 10-8 to 1.0 x 10-2 mol x dm-3), temperature (298 to 328 K) and solution pH (3.0 to 10.5) greatly enhanced the removal of Sr(II) ions and the 'ion-exchange' along with surface complexation type uptake of Sr(II) followed the Freundlich adsorption isotherm for the entire concentration range (1.0 x 10-2 to 1.0 x 10-8 mol x dm-3). Desorption experiments suggest that the uptake is irreversible and the irradiation of these materials enhanced their applicability as showed greater stability towards ionizing radiations from a 300 mCi (Ra-Be) neutron source. (author)