Sorption of radiocobalt(II) onto Ca-montmorillonite: effect of contact time, solid content, pH, ionic strength and temperature

In this paper, the sorption of Co(II) from aqueous solution to Ca-montmorillonite was studied under ambient conditions by using batch technique. The effects of contact time, solid content, pH, ionic strength and temperature on the sorption of Co(II) to Ca-montmorillonite was also investigated. The results indicated that the sorption of Co(II) was strongly dependent on pH values. The sorption was dependent on ionic strength at low pH values, but independent of ionic strength at high pH values. Outer-sphere surface complexes were formed on the surface of Ca-montmorillonite at low pH values, whereas inner-sphere surface complexes were formed at high pH values. The Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin–Radushkevich (D–R) models were used to simulate the sorption isotherms of Co(II) at three different temperatures. The thermodynamic parameters (ΔH ⁰, ΔS ⁰ and ΔG ⁰) were calculated from the temperature dependent sorption isotherms, and the results indicated that the sorption reaction of Co(II) to Ca-montmorillonite was an endothermic and spontaneous process. The high sorption capacity of Co(II) on Ca-montmorillonite suggests that the Ca-montmorillonite is a suitable material for the preconcentration and solidification of radiocobalt from aqueous solutions.