Taguchi L16 optimization approach for simultaneous removal of Cs+ and Sr2+ ions by a novel scavenger

Abstract

This study targeted to investigate the efficacy of a novel nano 2-naphtyl amine6:6-azulene sodium methanesulfonate di sulphonic acid-impregnated zeolite scavenger for simultaneous elimination of Cs⁺ and Sr²⁺ ions from binary aqueous systems. Fractal analysis is introduced to assign a fractal dimension and other fractal characteristics necessary for the surface characterization in terms of fractal dimension (D_s) and pre-exponential coefficient (C), which, in theory, are independent tool and sole for each surface. It is found that the D_s value of nano 2-naphtyl amine6:6-azulene sodium methanesulfonate di sulphonic acid-impregnated zeolite of type Y (NAASMS-ZY) is higher than that of nano 2-naphtyl amine6:6-azulene sodium methanesulfonate di sulphonic acid-impregnated zeolite of type X (NAASMS-ZX) and nano 2-naphtyl amine6:6-azulene sodium methanesulfonate di sulphonic acid-impregnated zeolite of type A (NAASMS-ZA) which accordingly, suggests the irregularity of NAASMS-ZY surface and thus demonstrates a large surface area. To increase the scavenge efficacy, effecting parameters on scavenge process were investigated and optimized via the use of adopting Taguchi L₁₆ design of experiments approach. It is found that, the initial metal ions concentration is the most powerful variable, and its value of contribution percentage is up to 33% and 31% for Cs⁺ and Sr²⁺, respectively. The kinetic curves and sorption isotherms at 298, 303 and 313 K were obtained, which well fitted to hyperbolic and Langmuir equations, respectively. Thermodynamic parameters demonstrated that the scavenge process was endothermic for both the concerned ions. Our results showed that the novel synthesized NAASMS-ZY is an effective nano-scavenger for cesium and strontium decontamination.

Keywords: Cs(+) and Sr(2+) scavenge; Fractal analysis; Modeling; NAASMS-ZY; Optimization.