60Co removal from aqueous solutions using charcoal

Charcoal, treated in different ways, can be used in the separation of⁶⁰Co from aqueous solutions. The cobalt species involved in the process were identified by high voltage electrophoresis. The best results were obtained using thermally and chemically treated charcoal with a maximum retention of 1.24 mmol cobalt per gram. It was also found that the cobalt was not desorbed from the chemically treated charcoal when washed with distilled water. However, it was eluted from the charcoal with 2.3N hydrochloric solution. Samples containing⁶⁰Co were analysed during the sorption process by gamma-ray spectrometry.