PLANT POLYMERS AND THEIR SORPTION ACTIVITY TO RADIUM IONS

This article presents the results of a sorption capacity investigation of a plant-based sorbent of plant origin when applied to 226Ra ions in aqueous media. The findings indicate that cellulose sorbents, a protein-polysaccharide complex and cellulose from the brown algae Saccharina latissima, demonstrate a high efficiency of binding 226Ra ions, with respective values of 95.2% and 76.6%. The sorption capacity of Cetraria islandica lichenin and Polytrichum commune moss lignin were found to be 74.6 and 86.2%, respectively. Desorption tests were conducted using distilled water, 1M hydrochloric acid, and 1M ammonium acetate. The results indicated that cellulose sorbents (protein-polysaccharide complex and brown algae cellulose) retained the radionuclide the most tightly. The sorption activity of the studied objects is determined by their chemical composition and the specifics of their capillary-porous structure, including the diameter and volume of pores and the specific surface area. These factors influence the complex mechanism of the sorption process of 226Ra ions on the sorbents under study, such as water cellulose, lichenin, and lignin. The findings of this study indicate the potential for utilizing these alternative plants as a source of novel, multifunctional sorption materials for the effective binding of radionuclides.