Mitigating uranium in groundwater: prospects and limitations
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Updated: Aug 30, 2026

Removal of Trace Elements by Cupric Oxide Nanoparticles from Uranium In Situ Recovery Bleed Water and Its Effect on Cell Viability
Published on: June 21, 2015
C Noubactep1, G Meinrath, P Dietrich
1Centre of Geosciences-Applied Geology, Goldschmidtstrasse 3, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany. cnoubac@gwdg.de
Abstract:
Removal of uranium(VI) by zerovalent iron has been suggested as a feasible pathway to control uranium contaminations in seepage waters. Available information in the literature however presents discrepant evidence on the process responsible for the mitigation effect. On basis of an EH-pH diagram of uranium and iron, it is outlined that these discrepancies may be explained by the aqueous chemistry of uranium and iron. Additional effects contributing to the complexity of the system are given. Solubilization experiments using scrap iron together with water works sludge, MnO2, and pyrite indicate that U(VI) is immobilized by iron corrosion products after about 50 days.
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