Uranium (VI) sorption from aqueous solution using commercial anion exchange resins; kinetics, isotherm, and thermodynamic investigations

Abstract

Abstract Commercial strong anion exchange resins provided by Purolite, namely MTA4801PF, and MTA4601PFSO4, were utilized for extracting uranium from sulfate leach liquor. The study focused on investigating the kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamics of the sorption process. Both resins demonstrated similar kinetics and isotherm performance, with sorption capacities of approximately 66 and 71 mg g −1 respectively. The sorption process was proven to be endothermic, feasible, and spontaneous, and U(VI) desorption of around 95% was achieved using 0.5 M sulfuric acid. Commercial resins showed excellent sorption performance when applied to sulfate leach liquor of Egyptian ores despite the complexity of the solution.