Simultaneous selective removal of cesium and cobalt from water using calcium alginate-zinc ferrocyanide-Cyanex 272 composite beads.

Composite beads consisting of Ca alginate mixed with zinc ferrocyanide (ZnFC) and Cyanex 272 were synthesized in order to selectively adsorb Cs and Co from water. Their physicochemical properties of the synthesized composite beads were characterized using various techniques, including FESEM, EDX, FTIR, and TGA. The ZnFC/Cyanex 272/alginate (ZCA) composite beads were then tested as an adsorbent for the selective removal of Cs and Co from an aqueous solution. The adsorption capacity increased with increasing ZnFC and Cyanex 272 contents. The adsorption process followed the Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order kinetics. The ZCA composite beads exhibited excellent selectivity toward Cs and Co even in the presence of competitive cations (K, Na, Fe, and Ni). The adsorption capacity of the ZCA composite beads for Cs and Co was almost maintained after three times of adsorption-desorption process.