Study on the illite modification for removal of Radioactive cesium in water environment near nuclear facilities

Radioactive cesium(¹³⁷Cs) can be released into the environment through severe nuclear accidents such as the Chernobyl and Fukushima, The ¹³⁷Cs is one of major monitoring radionuclides due to its chemical toxicity, γ radiation and long half-life(t1/2=30.2 yrs). It has been known well that illite adsorb selectively and strongly the cesium due to frayed edge sites. The quantity of the FES in the illite could be controlled by weathering processes. Therefore, this study was modified illite samples through artificial weathering in the laboratory to increase sorption efficiency for cesium. Abundant interlayer cations(i.e., K, Ca) were eluted within 1 day, while Si and Al were gradually released from the crystal structure. In addition, broad peaks of XRD indicated the occurrence of chemical weathering. The cesium sorption distribution coefficients increased up to approximately 2 times after the weathering. These results suggested that sorption capacity of illite could be enhanced for cesium through artificial weathering under low temperature.