Use of silver–bentonite in sorption of chloride and iodide ions

Ag–bentonite was prepared by ion exchange process to sorb iodide and chloride ions in batch experiments. The modified bentonite was examined with XRF and XRD. 75% of the cation exchange capacity was exchanged by silver ions. It was found that the sorption of chloride ions is an exothermic precipitation process because the solubility decreases with increasing temperature. In the case of iodide sorption, the dissolution of AgI was observed under high concentration of non-radioactive iodide ions, which is well known in analytical chemistry. The phenomenon occurs not only in the bulk aqueous phase but also in the interlayer space of montmorillonite.