Sorption and desorption of radiocesium by muscovite separated from the Georgia kaolin.

Radiocesium (Cs) sorption by moderately weathered, sand-sized muscovite, obtained as a byproduct of kaolin ore processing, was observed at various concentrations of added stable Cs (0-100 μmol/L) over a 130 d period. After 18 h of batch sorption with 1 mmol/L NaCl as background electrolyte, conditional Cs K values were near 2000 L/kg across the entire range of added stable Cs. Over four succeeding months, the K values increased by large factors for suspensions with little added Cs but increased only slightly for the suspensions with the most added Cs.