The extraction of uranium by amidoximated orlon

The nitrile groups in polyacrylonitrile (Orlontrade mark) fabric were converted to amidoxime groups to produce an amidoximated orlon fabric. The amidoximated fabric was evaluated for its ability to extract uranium from aqueous solution with a wide range of temperature and pH values. The conversion of nitrile groups to amidoxime groups was simple and relatively inexpensive. In general, the modified orlon fabric showed superior extractability of uranium at all temperatures and pH values tested when compared to untreated Orlontrade mark fabric.