Rapid and highly selective removal of cesium by Prussian blue analog anchored on porous collagen fibers.

[Display omitted] • Novel absorbent PBA-CFs were fabricated by anchoring Prussian blue analog on CFs. • PBA-CFs showed high thermal stability and excellent radiation tolerance. • PBA-CFs displayed low pH sensitivity, high rate, and selectivity for Cs+ removal. • PBA-CFs could efficiently adsorb Cs+ from various actual water environments. • PBA-CFs were suitable for continuous column adsorption and easily regenerated. Removing radioactive cesium from wastewaters is necessary for sustainable development of nuclear energy. In this study, a novel adsorbent (PBA-CFs) was successfully fabricated by securely anchoring Prussian blue analog on porous collagen fibers (CFs) crosslinked with Zr4+. PBA-CFs showed low pH sensitivity and high adsorption capacity (q e) for cesium, with an optimal adsorption pH range of 2–10 and a maximum of 1.32 mmol g−1. The novel adsorbent also displayed high selectivity for Cs+ in the presence of competing ions (K+, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Sr2+, or Co2+). They could effectively remove above 98 % Cs+ from tap water, lake water, and mineral water and more than 75 % of Cs+ in seawater at the Cs+ concentration of 10–60 mg/L. The adsorption process could rapidly reach equilibrium within 30 min and satisfy the pseudo-second-order kinetics model. Adsorption thermodynamics further indicated the process was exothermic, feasible, and spontaneous. Significantly, PBA-CFs exhibited superior adsorption performance in the continuous column process, with q o of 1.53 mmol g−1. One gram of PBA-CFs could effectively treat 4.03 L (666 BV) of water at a flow rate of 0.3 mL min−1, with a removal rate beyond 95 %, superior to other common adsorbents. Moreover, 0.1 mol/L NH 4 Cl solution with pH 2 could rapidly regenerate the saturated PBA-CF column. PBA-CFs demonstrated notable irradiation stability after exposure to 10–350 kGy of 60Co γ-ray. These results demonstrate PBA-CFs are a highly effective and promising adsorbent for the removal of radioactive 137Cs from wastewater. This work not only provides a feasible method for Cs+ removal to facilitate the environmental protection and sustainable development of nuclear energy but also extends the effective application and circular development of CFs as a reproducible biomass resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]