Synthesis and Evaluation of the Extraction Efficiency of Pristine Zeolite Na-A to Remove ReO₄^– Ions (Surrogate of ⁹⁹TcO₄^–) from a Simulated Low-Level Waste Solution

Zeolite Na-A was synthesized through hydrothermal, alkali-fusion, and sonochemical methods, using kaolin as an economically viable precursor. The synthesized zeolite Na-A samples were characterized using XRD, FT-IR, SEM, and Raman spectroscopy. Specific surface area and pore size distribution analyses (by BJH and DFT models) were conducted using a BET surface area analyzer. Additionally, thermal degradation studies were performed by TG-DTA to check the thermal stability of zeolite Na-A at high temperatures. Furthermore, kaolin-derived zeolite Na-A was employed for the extraction of perrhenate ions (ReO₄^-), which are a nonradioactive surrogate for pertechnetate ions (⁹⁹TcO₄^-) without any postsynthetic modifications (using toxic surfactants, etc.) utilizing in situ modification of the solution medium for the first time. The sonochemically synthesized zeolite Na-A demonstrated superior sorption performance for the solid-phase extraction of ReO₄^- ions from the simulated low-level waste solution. The adsorption process was found to follow pseudo-second-order kinetics. The Langmuir isotherm model fit perfectly with the experimental data (<i>R</i>² = 0.997) and exhibited a maximum sorption capacity of 926.8 mg/g at pH ∼11, showing superior sorption capacities compared to those of the numerous materials reported earlier. XPS confirmed the speciation of extracted rhenium as NH₄Re(VII)O₄, providing critical insights into the adsorption mechanisms and validating the suitability of the sonochemically synthesized zeolites toward ReO₄^- sorption. Furthermore, Raman studies of ReO₄^- adsorbed zeolite Na-A reflect the absence of characteristic breathing bands, indicating the closure of the pore openings due to the occupancy of adsorbate moieties within the pores. This study not only highlights the utilization of sonochemically synthesized zeolite Na-A as an efficient, benign, and cost-effective adsorbent for ⁹⁹TcO₄^- removal from nuclear waste but also emphasizes its potential sustainable applications in various other industrial processes such as wastewater treatment, catalysis, gas separation, pollution control, and resource recovery from industrial effluents and in the pharmaceutical industry for selective ion removal.