Chemical Engineering Journal

• Sources and reactions of various iodine species are summarized. • Metal oxide-based adsorbents’ potential abilities for iodine capture are discussed. • Metal oxides can form stable oxyiodide forms for long-term radioidine storage. • Silver and Bismuth oxides show better performance for iodine capture and storage. • Metalloid oxides are used as low-sintering temperature additives to limit iodine loss during storage. Long-lived 129 I, short-lived 131 I, and organic iodides released from nuclear plants are volatile and harmful to the ecosystem. For operational safety, and sustainable development of nuclear industries, effective means of trapping various iodine radioisotopes are of great concern. Wet scrubbing methods are often combined with adsorbents to entrap radioiodine species effectively, and thus the search for materials with high performance is still needed. Metal oxides are believed to be potential candidates for real applications. In this review, we documented the metal oxide-based materials for volatile radioactive iodine capture, with limitations on operating conditions, adsorption capacities, and long-term immobilization. Advantages, shortcomings of various metal oxides toward iodine capture, and metal oxide additives for a low-sintering temperature of iodide waste forms have been elucidated for helping in the long-term future development of efficient materials for iodine capture and storage.

An overview on metal Oxide-based materials for iodine capture and storage