title: Improved performance of a biomaterial-based cation exchanger for the adsorption of uranium(VI) from water and nuclear industry wastewater.
abstract: The amine-modified polyhydroxyethylmethacrylate (poly(HEMA))-grafted biomaterial (tamarind fruit shell, TFS) carrying carboxyl functional groups at the chain end (PGTFS-COOH) was prepared and used as an adsorbent for the removal of uranium(VI) from water and nuclear industry wastewater. FTIR spectral analysis revealed that U(VI) ions and PGTFS-COOH formed a chelate complex. The adsorption process was relatively fast, requiring only 120 min to attain equilibrium. The adsorption kinetic data were best described by the pseudo-second-order equation. The equilibrium adsorption data were correlated with the Sips isotherm model. The maximum U(VI) ions uptake with PGTFS-COOH was estimated to be 100.79 mg/g. The complete removal of 10mg/L U(VI) from simulated nuclear industry wastewater was achieved by 3.5 g/L PGTFS-COOH. The reusability of the adsorbent was demonstrated over 4 cycles using NaCl (1.0M)+HCl (0.5M) solution mixture to de-extract the U(VI). The results show that the PGTFS-COOH tested is very promising for the recovery of U(VI) from water and wastewater.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Kerala, Kariavattom, Trivandrum 695 581, Kerala, India. tsani@rediffmail.com
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Anirudhan
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Radhakrishnan
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D002411:Cation Exchange Resins / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007700:Kinetics; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D011850:Radioactive Waste; D012044:Regression Analysis; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013499:Surface Properties; D029861:Tamarindus / Q000737:chemistry; D014501:Uranium / Q000737:chemistry*; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000737:chemistry*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D002411:Cation Exchange Resins; D011850:Radioactive Waste; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive; D014501:Uranium