Publication Details |
| Category | Text Publication |
| Reference Category | Journals |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120825 |
| Title (Primary) | Adsorption of uranium (VI) complexes with polymer-based spherical activated carbon |
| Author | Boussouga, Y.-A.; Joseph, J.; Stryhanyuk, H.; Richnow, H.H.; Schäfer, A.I. |
| Source Titel | Water Research |
| Year | 2024 |
| Department | TECH |
| Volume | 249 |
| Page From | art. 120825 |
| Language | englisch |
| Topic | T7 Bioeconomy |
| Abstract | Adsorption processes with carbon-based adsorbents have received substantial attention as a solution to remove uranium from drinking water. This study investigated uranium adsorption by a polymer-based spherical activated carbon (PBSAC) characterised by a uniformly smooth exterior and an extended surface of internal cavities accessible via mesopores. The static adsorption of uranium was investigated applying varying PBSAC properties and relevant solution chemistry. Spatial time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) was employed to visualise the distribution of the different uranium species in the PBSAC. The isotherms and thermodynamics calculations revealed monolayer adsorption capacities of 28 to 667 mg/g and physical adsorption energies of 13 to 21 kJ/mol. Increasing the surface oxygen content of the PBSAC to 10% enhanced the adsorption and reduced the equilibrium time to 2 hours, while the WHO drinking water guideline of 30 µgU/L could be achieved for an initial concentration of 250 µgU/L. Uranium adsorption with PBSAC was favourable at the pH 6-8. At this pH range, uranyl carbonate complexes (UO2CO3(aq), UO2(CO3)22–, (UO2)2CO3(OH)3–) predominated in the solution, and the ToF-SIMS analysis revealed that the adsorption of these complexes occurred on the surface and inside the PBSAC due to intra-particle diffusion. For the uranyl cations (UO22+, UO2OH+) at pH 2 to 4, only shallow adsorption in the outermost PBSAC layers was observed. The work demonstrated the effective removal of uranium from contaminated natural water (67 µgU/L) and meeting both German (10 µgU/L) and WHO guideline concentrations. These findings also open opportunities to consider PBSAC in hybrid treatment technologies for uranium removal, for instance, from high-level radioactive waste. |
| Persistent UFZ Identifier | https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=28201 |
| Boussouga, Y.-A., Joseph, J., Stryhanyuk, H., Richnow, H.H., Schäfer, A.I. (2024): Adsorption of uranium (VI) complexes with polymer-based spherical activated carbon Water Res. 249 , art. 120825 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120825 |
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