1. Biodegradable star-like polymer flocculants for rapid, efficient purification of water contaminated with industrial radionuclides.
- Author
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Kutsevol, Nataliya, Kuziv, Yuliia, Cabrera, Tristan, Husson, Scott M., DeVol, Timothy A., and Bliznyuk, Valery
- Subjects
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WATER purification , *FLOCCULANTS , *RADIOISOTOPES , *POLYMERS , *DRINKING water , *FLOCCULATION , *URANIUM mining - Abstract
• Star-like polyacrylamides are identified as efficient flocculants for U, Sr, and Cs. • Application of such polymers with kaolinites enables rapid purification of water. • Within 20 min >95% of U, Sr, Cs radionuclides can be removed under neutral condition. • The process can be readily scaled up for industrial applications in water treatments. We report on the mechanisms and application of dextran-graft-polyacrylamide star-like polymers as efficient flocculation aids. Demonstrated in this paper is that these polymers form complexes with three common radionuclide contaminants: uranium, strontium, and cesium. Application of these polymers as flocculant aids together with inexpensive kaolinite-like materials allows fast and efficient purification of water. The methods presented here can be easily scaled up to industrial level decontamination of wastewater or used in large scale production of potable water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
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