Sorption of Radionuclides 137Cs, 60Co, and 85Sr from Aqueous Solutions with Heat Treated Oil Shale

The products of oil shale processing are of interest as sorbents for the purification of liquid radioactive waste (LRW). The work studies the adsorption and textural characteristics of samples of heat-treated oil shale by the method of low-temperature adsorption–desorption of nitrogen and sorption of radionuclides from aqueous solutions. It is shown that with an increase in the processing temperature of oil shale, their sorption capacity increases during the extraction of 137Cs and 60Co radionuclides from aqueous solutions, while the processing temperature does not affect the sorption of 85Sr. This effect of the treatment temperature on the oil shale sorption parameters is associated with the removal and carbonization of the organic constituent, as well as the different contribution of ion exchange and adsorption processes to the adsorption of 137Cs, 60Co, and 85Sr radionuclides. Therewith the distribution coefficients of radionuclides reaches 103–104 cm3/g.