Strontium adsorption properties of an aluminum-pillared montmorillonite carrying carboxylate functional groups.

Strontium adsorption was studied in an aluminum-pillared montmorillonite (PILC) carrying organic acid groups. The in situ dissociation of these groups increases the number of negative sites in the modified PILC, promoting thus the uptake of cations from an exchange solution. To investigate the role of solution pH and acid strength in cation uptake phenomena, base titrations were performed for PILCs carrying either oxalate or acetate groups. Comparison with the pristine PILC showed that extra Sr(2+) uptake initiated at pH 6 and 8 in the presence of oxalate and acetate, respectively. The overall increase in Sr(2+) uptake was higher in the presence of oxalate and amounted to about 136% as compared with the pristine PILC, at pH slightly above 8. The effect of the acid's strength was further probed through strontium adsorption isotherms, taken at a constant pH for PILC samples carrying acetate, oxalate, malonate, or citrate groups. The results demonstrate that cation uptake can be optimized by tuning the pH conditions to the acid's strength or vice versa.