Particle-reinforced ion exchange resin for selective separation and recovery of cesium from highly acidic water

Abstract The efficient separation of 137 Cs from high-level liquid waste (HLLW) is of great significance for the development of nuclear energy. However, for columns commonly used in the industry, ion exchangers need to be loaded on the resin matrix, which is typically not resistant to strong acids. Consequently, a particle-reinforced ion exchange resin (PR AWP-CA) was designed and prepared. In PR AWP-CA, the active component (ammonium phosphotungstate) and particle reinforcer were encapsulated by carrier resin (calcium alginate). The formulation of was optimized by preparing the resin with different content. The results show that PR AWP-CA has great mechanical strength, high acid resistance and excellent selectivity. In 3 mol/L nitric acid, the adsorption equilibrium was reached after only 2 h. Cs could be selectively separated, and the recovery of cesium was greater than 98 % when the extraction of interference elements was close to 0. The cesium separation ability of the resin was stable in 3.0 mol/L nitric acid at 25–55 °C. PR AWP-CA exhibited good compressive resistance in column experiment. After five cycles, the resin could still present high adsorption capacity. A particle reinforced ion exchange resin, suitable for the separation of cesium in high level radioactive waste liquid, was successfully obtained.