Growing concern over the hazardous effect of radionuclides on the environment is driving research on mitigation and deposition strategies for radioactive waste management. Currently, there are many techniques used for radionuclides separation from the environment such as ion exchange, solvent extraction, chemical precipitation and adsorption. Adsorbents are the leading area of research and many useful materials are being discovered in this category of radionuclide ion separation. The adsorption technologies lack the ability of selective removal of metal ions from solution. This drawback is eliminated by the use of ion-imprinted polymers, these materials having targeted binding sites for specific ions in the media. In this review article, we present recently published literature about the use of ion-imprinted polymers for the adsorption of 10 important hazardous radionuclides—U, Th, Cs, Sr, Ce, Tc, La, Cr, Ni, Co—found in the nuclear fuel cycle.

The study summarizes the results of monitoring the properties of two types of sorbents, BC1 (biochar sample 1) and BC2a (biochar sample 2), prepared by pyrolysis of bamboo biomass (BC1) and as its composite with montmorillonite K10 (BC2a). The main goal was to study their applicability to the Tc (VII) separation from liquid wastes, using NH₄ReO₄ as a carrier. The research was focused on determining the sorbents surface properties (by XRF (X-ray fluorescence) method and potentiometric titration in order to determine the properties of surface groups—Chemical Equilibrium Model (CEM) and Ion Exchange Model (IExM) models were applied here). As well as monitoring Tc (VII) (+Re(VII)) sorption, especially to determine equilibrium isotherm, the influence of pH and kinetics. The subject of research was also the dynamics of sorption, including its mathematical–physical modeling. Both sorbents have good properties against Tc (VII), however BC2a, due to the presence of montmorillonite, is more advantageous in this respect. It has a higher sorption capacity and faster kinetic investigation. An important finding is that the optimal pH is 2–3, which is related not only to the protonation of surface groups (they have a positive charge), but also to the negative form of the existence of Tc (VII) and Re (VII): TcO₄⁻ and ReO₄⁻.

The work deals with the evaluation of biochar samples prepared from Phyllostachys Viridiglaucescens bamboo. This evaluation consists of the characterization of prepared materials’ structural properties, batch and dynamic sorption experiments, and potentiometric titrations. The batch technique was focused on obtaining basic sorption data of ^99mTcO₄⁻ on biochar samples including influence of pH, contact time, and Freundlich isotherm. ReO₄⁻, which has very similar chemical properties to ^99mTcO₄⁻, was used as a carrier in the experiments. Theoretical modeling of titration curves of biochar samples was based on the application of surface complexation models, namely, so called Chemical Equilibrium Model (CEM) and Ion Exchange Model (IExM). In this case it is assumed that there are two types of surface groups, namely, the so-called layer and edge sites. The dynamic experimental data of sorption curves were fitted by a model based on complementary error function erfc(x).

The study investigated the adsorption behaviour of different activated carbon samples for pertechnetate under diverse conditions. Characterizations of A-CF-F and A-CF-Z samples were done using BET, FTIR, XRD, XRF and SEM–EDX methods. In batch experiments, maximum adsorption occured at pH 2, with a swift process and an optimal phase mixing time determined as 1 h for all of the samples. Analyzing experimental data using Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models revealed coefficients of determination R² exceeding 90%. The Freundlich isotherm was found to be more suitable for describing the adsorption process.

The efficiency of ${}^{133}\mathrm{Ba}$ and ${}^{137}\mathrm{Cs}$ removal from aqueous solution is vital to mitigate ecological concerns over spreading these radionuclides in the environment. The present work focused on the use of Turkish perlite for the sorptive removal of ${}^{133}\mathrm{Ba}$ and ${}^{137}\mathrm{Cs}$ from aqueous solution by the radioindicator method. Perlite was characterized by XRF, XRD, FTIR, SEM–EDX, and BET analyses. The maximum percentage removals of 88.2% and 78.7% were obtained for ${}^{133}\mathrm{Ba}$ and ${}^{137}\mathrm{Cs}$ at pH 6 and pH 9, respectively. For both ions, the sorption equilibrium was attained relatively rapidly. Experimental kinetic data were well described with pseudo-second-order and intraparticle diffusion models. The uptake of both ions increased with the increase in metal concentration (1 × 10⁻⁵ to 5 × 10⁻² mol/L) in solution. The maximum uptake capacities of ${}^{133}\mathrm{Ba}$ and ${}^{137}\mathrm{Cs}$ were found to be 1.96 and 2.11 mmol/g, respectively. The effect of competing ions decreased in the order of ${\mathrm{Ca}}^{2+}>{\mathrm{K}}^{+}>{\mathrm{Ni}}^{2+}>{\mathrm{Na}}^{+}$ for ${}^{133}\mathrm{Ba}$ sorption, whereas for ${}^{137}\mathrm{Cs}$ sorption, the order was determined as ${\mathrm{Ca}}^{2+}>{\mathrm{Ni}}^{2+}>{\mathrm{K}}^{+}>{\mathrm{Na}}^{+}$. Selectivity studies pointed out that sorption of ${}^{133}\mathrm{Ba}$ onto perlite is preferable to ${}^{137}\mathrm{Cs}$. Therefore, Turkish perlite is a promising, cost-effective, and efficient natural material for the removal of ${}^{133}\mathrm{Ba}$ and ${}^{137}\mathrm{Cs}$ from relatively diluted aqueous solution.