Cobalt adsorption on the nano-hydroxyapatite matrix: Isotherm and kinetic studies

Abstract

Cobalt radionuclide is one of the prime contaminants generated during operation of pressurized heavy water. The paper reports the study of cobalt adsorption on hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanoceramic. A modified wet chemical precipitation method is used for HAp synthesis. The HAp nano-material is characterized by XRD, FTIR, TG/DTA, AFM, SEM, and EDAX. Experiments are performed in batches to observe the effect of cobalt adsorption on HAp matrix. The adsorption of cobalt on HAp is examined at room temperature. The isotherm and kinetic studies showed that the Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second order model are the best choices to describe the nature of adsorption.