Isotopes of alkali and alkaline earth metals (AM and AEM) are the main contributors to the heat load and the radiotoxicity of spent fuel (SF) . These components are separated from the SF and dissolved in a molten LiCl in an electrolytic reduction process. A mass transfer model is developed to describe the diffusion behavior of Cs, Sr, and Ba in the SF into the molten salt. The model is an analytical solution of Fick's second law of diffusion for a cylinder which is the shape of a cathode in the electrolytic reduction process. And the model is also applied to depict the concentration profile of the oxygen ion which is produced by the electrolysis of LiO. The regressed diffusion coefficients of the model correlating the experimentally measured data are evaluated to be greater in the order of Ba, Cs, and Sr for the metal ions and the diffusion of the oxygen ion is slower than the metal ions which implies that different mechanisms govern the diffusion of the metal ions and the oxygen ions in a molten LiCl.

In the current study, MIL-101(Cr)-SO3H[HCl] as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) was fabricated via a hydrothermal method. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized material were characterized using XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM, TEM, and BET surface area analysis. The XRD diffraction pattern of the prepared MIL-101(Cr)-SO3H[HCl] was similar to previously reported patterns of MIL-101(Cr) type materials, indicating successful synthesis of MIL-101(Cr)-SO3H[HCl]. The FT-IR spectrum revealed the molecular structure and functional groups of the synthesized MIL-101(Cr)-SO3H[HCl]. FE-SEM and TEM images indicated the formation of rectangular parallelopiped structures in the prepared MIL-101(Cr)-SO3H[HCl]. Furthermore, the EDS spectrum showed that the synthesized material consisted of the elements of Cr, O, S, and C. The fabricated MIL-101(Cr)-SO3H[HCl] was then employed as an adsorbent for the removal of Sr2+ and Cs+ from aqueous solutions. The adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherm models were studied in detail. The maximum adsorption capacities of MIL-101(Cr)-SO3H[HCl] for Sr2+ and Cs+ according to pH (3, 5.3∼5.8, 10) were 35.05, 43.35, and 79.72 mg/g and 78.58, 74.58, and 169.74 mg/g, respectively. These results demonstrate the potential of the synthesized MOFs, which can be effectively applied as an adsorbent for the removal of Sr2+ and Cs+ ions from aqueous solutions and other diverse applications.

The adsorption characteristics of Sr ions and Cs ions in single and binary solution by zeolite A were investigated in batch experiment. The adsorption rate of Sr ions and Cs ions by zeolite A obeyed pseudo-second-order kinetic model in single and binary solution. The initial adsorption rates (h) and adsorption capacities of both ions obtained from pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and the values were decreased with increasing concentration of the competitive ions (0~1.5 mM). Also, adsorption isotherm data in binary solution were well fitted to the extended Langmuir model, the maximum adsorption capacities of Sr and Cs calculated from the model were 1.78 mmol/g and 1.64 mmol/g, respectively. The adsorption of Sr and Cs ions by zeolite A was carried out in the presence of other cations such as Na+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+. The results showed that the zeolite A can maintain a relatively high adsorption capacity for Sr and Cs ions and exhibits a high selectivity in the presence of competitive cations. The effect of competition had an order of Ca2+>K+>Mg2+>Na+ for Sr ions and K+>Ca2+>Na+>Mg2+ for Cs ions at the same cation concentration.