Highly efficient sorption of U(VI) from aqueous solution using amino/amine-functionalized magnetic mesoporous silica nanospheres

The amino/amine-functionalized magnetic mesoporous silica nanospheres (MSN-DETA) exhibited relatively high sorption capacity (q_m?=?153.68 mg/g) as well as excellent selectivity for U(VI). The U4f_7/2 X-ray photoelectron spectrometry revealed two binding energies at 380.8?±?0.3 eV (with the proportion of 75.2%) and 382.3?±?0.3 eV, which indicated the inner-surface complexation mechanism. The sorption isotherms fitted well with the Langmuir model, whereas the sorption kinetics could be fitted by pseudo-second-order model. The U(VI)-loaded MSN-DETA could be efficiently regenerated by acidified EDTA (0.4 M). These findings indicated that MSN-DETA could be used as a potential material for the efficient sorption/separation of U(VI) from wastewater.

     

High performance of phosphonate-functionalized mesoporous silica for U(VI) sorption from aqueous solution

The renaissance of nuclear energy promotes increasing basic research on the separation and enrichment of nuclear fuel associated radionuclides. Herein, we report the first study for developing mesoporous silica functionalized with phosphonate (NP10) as a sorbent for U(VI) sorption from aqueous solution. The mesoporous silica was synthesized by co-condensation of diethylphosphatoethyltriethoxysilane (DPTS) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), using cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as the template. The synthesized silica nanoparticles were observed to possess a mesoporous structure with a uniform pore diameter of 2.7 nm, and to have good stability and high efficiency for U(VI) sorption from aqueous solution. A maximum sorption capacity of 303 mg g(-1) and fast equilibrium time of 30 min were achieved under near neutral conditions at room temperature. The adsorbed U(VI) can be easily desorbed by using 0.1 mol L(-1) HNO(3), and the reclaimed mesoporous silica can be reused with no decrease of sorption capacity. In addition, the preconcentration of U(VI) from a 100 mL aqueous solution using the functionalized mesoporous silica was also studied. The preconcentration factor was found to be as high as 100, suggesting the vast opportunities of this kind of mesoporous silica for the solid-phase extraction and enrichment of U(VI).     

Adsorption of U (VI) ions from aqueous solution using silicon dioxide nanopowder

The adsorption kinetics for removal of uranium (V1) from aqueous solution using silicon dioxide nanopowder (nano-SiO₂) was investigated in batch and continuous techniques. Pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order were used to analyze the kinetics of batch experiments. In continuous technique the important parameters (initial concentration, flow rate and bed height) on the breakthrough curves were studied and the adsorption kinetics was analyzed using Thomas and Yoon and Nelson kinetic models. The comparison between the kinetic models was evaluated by the correlation coefficients (r²). The results indicated that the batch experiments fitted well with pseudo second-order kinetic model. The comparison of the experimental breakthrough curve to the breakthrough profile obtained from Thomas and Yoon and Nelson methods showed a satisfactory fit for silicon dioxide nanopowder.     

Static and dynamic sorption study of heavy metal ions on amino-functionalized SBA-15

Amino-functionalized SBA-15 mesoporous silica (SBA-15-NN) was synthesized using the normal grafting procedure of SBA-15 with [3-(2-Aminoethyl) aminopropyl] trimethoxysilane. Under optimal conditions, SBA-15-NN exhibited a higher adsorption capacity toward metal ions than SBA-15 in static adsorption. The results showed that the flow rate of 2?mL?min^?1 might be the optimum flow rate in dynamic adsorption, and the higher initial metal ion concentration is favorable for the adsorption of Zn(II), Co(II), and Ni(II) onto SBA-15-NN. The results indicated that SBA-15-NN could effectively remove multiple metal ions from aqueous solution as a good adsorption material.     

Adsorption of U(VI) from aqueous solution by cross-linked rice straw

Adsorption of U(VI) from aqueous solution by cross-linked rice straw(CRS) was studied with batch experiments. The adsorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The effect of contact time, initial pH, temperature, adsorbent amount and initial U(VI) concentration was investigated. Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin–Radushkevich (D–R) adsorption isotherms and two kinetic models of pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order were used to describe the adsorption process. The result showed that the adsorption process was highly pH dependent and the favorable initial pH was 5.0. The adsorption process was rapid within first 60 min and equilibrium reached at 100 min. The adsorption process could be well defined by the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order equation, which indicated that the chemical adsorption was the rate-limiting step. The thermodynamic parameters (?H°, ?S°, ?G°) of the adsorption system were also calculated. The negative value of ?H° and ?G° indicated that the reaction was endothermic and spontaneous in nature. All the above suggested that CRS has considerable potential for the removal of U(VI) from aqueous solution.     

Enhanced removal of U(VI) from aqueous solution by chitosan-modified zeolite

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - A typical type of natural zeolite(Z) modified with chitosan was applied to remove U(VI) from aqueous solution. Batch experiments were performed to...     

Preconcentration of U(VI) from aqueous solutions after sorption using Sorel’s cement in dynamic mode

Summary Mg(OH)₂ was identified as a component of Sorel’s cement being a very strong sorbent for uranium. Sorel’s cement is a mixture of MgO, MgCl₂ and water. The optimal conditions for the adsorption of U(VI) was studied by the batch method. A contact time of 2 hours was found to be optimum. Maximum U(VI) uptake was observed in a pH range of 5.5-6.5 with a sorption constant of K_ads = 0.9 h^-1 at initial concentration of 20 ppm. Polypropylene columns filled with 2 g of Sorel’s cement at a mesh size of 35 were used for the preconcentration of uranium by passing 8 l of water containing 10 ppb U(VI). A flow rate of 0.25 ml/min and a bed height of 5 cm were found to be the optimum for the U(VI) separation. A 5 wt% triphenylphosphine oxide solution in toluene was used as an organic solvent for the separation of uranium from interfering elements such as iron(III) and thorium(IV), prior to spectrophotometric analysis. The determination of U(VI) was accomplished by adding Arsenazo III as a coloring reagent to the solution and using a UV-160A spectrophotometer.     

Oxovanadium(IV) and dioxomolybdenum(VI) salen complexes tethered onto amino-functionalized SBA-15 for the epoxidation of cyclooctene

Oxovanadium(IV) and dioxomolybdenum(VI) salen complexes were firstly tethered onto amino-functionalized mesoporous SBA-15 materials by a stepwise procedure and were screened as catalysts for the epoxidation of cyclooctene. The mesoporous structural integrity throughout the tethering procedure, the successful tethering of the organometallic complexes, the loadings of metal ions and organic ligands as well as the catalyst surface constitution and location of active organometallic species on the SBA-15 support were determined by comprehensive characterization techniques such as XRD, N₂ adsorption/desorption, FT-IR, UV–vis spectroscopy, ICP-AES, XPS and TG/DTA. Catalytic properties in the epoxidation of cyclooctene demonstrate that both tethered oxovanadium(IV) and dioxomolybdenum(VI) catalysts were more active than their respective homogeneous analogue, and the tethered oxovanadium(IV) complex showed the best activity (64.3%) with H₂O₂ as the oxidant and CH₃CN as the solvent.     

Ozonated graphene oxides as high efficient sorbents for Sr(II) and U(VI) removal from aqueous solutions

Ozone was used to oxidize graphene oxides (GO) to generate ozonated graphene oxides (OGO) with higher oxygen-containing functional groups. The as-prepared OGO was characterized by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Based on the results of potentiometric acid-base titrations, the total carboxylic acid concentration on OGO surface was calculated to be 3.92 mmol/g, which was much higher than that on GO surface. The results of adsorption experiments indicated that the adsorption capacities of OGO for Sr(II) and U(VI) removal were improved significantly after ozonization.     

Removal of uranium(VI) from aqueous solution using sponge iron

Direct reduced iron (DRI), also called sponge iron, was used for the removal of U(VI) from aqueous solution. Batch experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of various factors including contact time, solution pH, DRI dosage and initial uranium concentration on this removal process. The result suggested that U(VI) can be rapidly removed by DRI and this removal process followed an apparent first-order reaction kinetics. The optimum pH for uranium removal was between 2.0 and 4.0. Whether U(VI) can be fully removed was influenced by the molar ratio of DRI to U(VI) in solution. The aqueous U(VI) can be removed completely when this ratio was more than ca. 1,000. The U(VI) removal capacities of DRI decreased with increasing DRI dosages at a constant concentration of U(VI), but increased almost linearly with increasing initial U(VI) concentrations at a fixed dosage of DRI. The maximum U(VI) removal capacity was 5.71 mg/g DRI. Finally, the possible mechanism of U(VI) removal by DRI was also discussed. The XPS and XRD analysis showed that U(VI) was deposited as UO₃ onto DRI surface, indicating that U(VI) can be removed without reduction.     

Highly efficient uranium(VI) removal from aqueous solution using poly(cyclotriphosphazene-co-4,4′-diaminodiphenyl-ether) crosslinked microspheres

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Radiocarbon and radiocesium were measured on litter fractions (LF) collected on November 19th, 2011 at 40 km NW of the FDNPP. The 137Cs...     

Adsorption of U(VI) from aqueous solution by sulfonated ordered mesoporous carbon

The sulfonated mesoporous carbon (CMK-3-SO₃H) prepared by functionalizing mesoporous carbon (CMK-3) via vapor transfer method has been explored for the removal and recovery of uranium from aqueous solutions. The influences of different experimental parameters such as solution pH, initial concentration, contact time and temperature on adsorption were investigated. The results showed that CMK-3-SO₃H has the highest uranium sorption capacity at initial pH of 5.0 and contact time of 120 min, and the adsorption process could be better described by the pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir isotherm. Selective adsorption studies showed that the CMK-3-SO₃H could selectively remove of U(VI), and the selectivity coefficients of mesoporous carbon in the presence of co-existing ions, Mg(II), Zn(II), Mn(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), Sr(II) and Hg(II) improved after functionalization.     

Effective biosorption of U(VI) from aqueous solution using calcium alginate hydrogel beads grafted with amino-carbamate moieties

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - The kinetics of Co ions sorption on CoTreat® was investigated in the 5–40 mg/L concentration range at a bulk temperature of...     

Removal of lead(II) from aqueous solution with amino-functionalized nanoscale zero-valent iron

An effective adsorbent for removal of Pb(II) in aqueous solution was synthesized by reaction of nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS). The material was characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The amino-coated NZVI rapidly removed Pb(II) from aqueous solution and was easily separated by an external magnetic field. The Freundlich equation was used for investigating the adsorption process of APS-NZVI. Compared to untreated NZVI, the APS-coated NZVI exhibited stronger adsorption affinity and better adsorption performance. Therefore, APS-NZVI may be a suitable material for heavy metal remediation and has potential industrial applications.      

Application of NKF-6 zeolite for the removal of U(VI) from aqueous solution

To better understand the application of NKF-6 zeolite as an adsorbent for the removal of U(VI) from radionuclides and heavy metal ions polluted water, herein, NKF-6 zeolite was employed to remove U(VI) at different experimental conditions. The influence of solid/liquid ratio, contact time, pH, ionic strength, humic substances and temperature on sorption of U(VI) to NKF-6 zeolite was investigated using batch technique under ambient conditions. The experimental results demonstrated that the sorption of U(VI) on NKF-6 zeolite was strongly dependent on pH. The sorption property of U(VI) was influenced by ionic strength at pH < 7.0, whereas was independent of ionic strength at pH > 7.0. The presence of fulvic acid or humic acid promoted the sorption of U(VI) on NKF-6 zeolite at low pH values while restrained the sorption at high pH values. The thermodynamic parameters (i.e., ΔS ⁰, ΔH ⁰, and ΔG ⁰) calculated from the temperature-dependent sorption isotherms demonstrated that the sorption process of U(VI) on NKF-6 zeolite was endothermic and spontaneous. At low pH values, the sorption of U(VI) was dominated by outer-sphere surface complexation and ion exchange with Na⁺/H⁺ on NKF-6 zeolite surfaces, while inner-sphere surface complexation was the main sorption mechanism at high pH values. From the experimental results, one can conclude that NKF-6 zeolite can be used as a potential adsorbent for the preconcentration and solidification of U(VI) from large volumes of aqueous solutions.