Fly ash sorbent modified with KMnO4 for the separation of important radionuclides

The main aim of this work was to develop a suitable sorbent for the separation and determination of 226Ra through 133Ba (radio tracer) in water samples using fly ash sorbent. After the modification with KMnO4 the effects of pH, competing ions, the possibility of elution, and the effect of water volume were tested. As a suitable eluent 6 mol/L HCl was chosen, while the sorbent worked best at pH 6–8. The developed method is advantageous for minimizing the time required for separation, the volume of chemicals used, and the waste generated after separation.