Thermal Decomposition Behavior of Prussian Blue in Various Conditions

Prussian blue analogs (PBA) are widely studied for radioactive cesium decontamination. However, there are fewer works related to their post use storage. Considering the oxidative stabilization of the material after the selective uptake of Cs, the thermogravimetric properties in powder and bead form, with various Cs and other alkali metal ions adsorbed, and various heating rates were studied. TG-DTA taken in dry air condition shows an exothermic decomposition at ~270 °C. This temperature varied with the heating rate, mass, and the proportion of adsorbed ions. The best condition for complete oxidation of Prussian blue (PB) is found to be a gradual oxidative decomposition by heating in the temperature range of 200–220 °C until the total mass is decreased by >35%. After this, the temperature could be safely increased to >300 °C for the complete oxidative decomposition of PB that formed iron oxide and salt of the adsorbed Cs. A pilot scale test conducted using the radioactive Cs adsorbed Prussian blue microbeads (PB-b) confirmed that no Cs was released in the effluent air during the process.