Abstract
In this study, an innovative nanocomposite has been assembled through the intercalation of alginate onto the surface of nanomagnetite@nano-Al(2)O(3)@nanobentonite, resulting in the formation of Alg@N-Fe(3)O(4)@N-Al(2)O(3)@N-Bent. The developed nanocomposite underwent characterization through various techniques, including FT-IR, TGA, SEM, and XRD to refer to an average particle size at 80.0-90.0 nm with numerous related functional groups of its constituting unites. The evaluation of Alg@N-Fe(3)O(4)@N-Al(2)O(3) aimed to identify its capacity to uptake and recover two radioactive nuclides, viz. (60)Co and (152-154)Eu, from nuclear wastewater. The outcomes of the study revealed that the most favorable conditions for the uptake of (60)Co and (152-154)Eu were a pH level of 6.0 and a contact time of 4.0 min. Under these conditions, the maximum uptake capacity values were determined as 82.71 mg g(-1) ((60)Co) and 180.4 mg g(- 1) ((152-154)Eu). The uptake process was characterized by fitting the data to pseudo-first and pseudo-second order models, in addition to this; the (152-154)Eu nuclide was specifically also fitted to the intra-particle model. The related adsorption isotherm models to the uptake of (60)Co and (152-154)Eu were investigated and the findings indicated that (152-154)Eu nuclide was well-fitted to the Langmuir and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) models, whereas (60)Co nuclide showed strong alignment with the Langmuir, Temkin, and D-R models. The outlined results validated the effectiveness of the Alg@N-Fe(3)O(4)@N-Al(2)O(3) nanocomposite in the remediation of polluted nuclear wastewater with the radioactive nuclides (152-154)Eu and (60)Co, providing a strong emphasis in minimizing of their risks before being released into the environment.