Selective Adsorption of Uranium on Activated Charcoal from Electrolytic Aqueous Solutions

Abstract

Abstract Adsorption of uranium on activated charcoal has been studied as a function of shaking time, amount of adsorbent, pH, concentration of adsorbate, and temperature. Uranium adsorption obeys the Langmuir isotherm. ΔHΔ and ΔSΔ were calculated from the slope and intercept of plots of ln KD vs 1/T. The influence of different anions and cations on uranium adsorption has been examined. The adsorption of other metal ions on activated charcoal has been studied under specified conditions to check its selectivity; consequently, uranium was removed from Cs, Ba, Zn, and Co. More than 98% adsorbed uranium on activated charcoal can be recovered with 65 mL of 3 M HNO3 solution. A wavelength dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometer was used for measuring uranium concentration.