Adsorption of Radioactive Iodine Using Nanocarbon on ETS-10 as Adsorbent

Laboratory-synthesized nanocarbon pelletized with titanosilicate (ETS-10) as a support matrix has been investigated for the capture of radioactive iodine present as methyl iodide (CH₃I) in the off-gas streams produced during aqueous reprocessing of used nuclear fuel. The mass fraction of carbon in the sorbent matrix was 0.10. The effects of residence time and CH₃I concentration were investigated using a continuous flow column setup to quantify the adsorption and desorption capacities of adsorbent under dynamic conditions from an air stream containing CH₃I present at concentrations representative of those expected in the off-gas streams. Air with CH₃I gas as a source in the column resulted in quantifiable CH₃I adsorption with 0.98 mg/g of adsorption capacity. Laboratory-made nanocarbons had a larger adsorption capacity than those of the other carbons reported in the literature. Additionally, the adsorption capacity of nanocarbon on ETS-10 is compared to that of nanocarbon coated on cordierite in previous studies.