Removal of uranium(VI) from water using hydroxyapatite coated activated carbon powder nanocomposite

Synthesis of hydroxyapatite coated activated carbon nanocomposite was carried out by in-situ chemical precipitation method. Different characterizations confirm that, hydroxyapatite successfully coated over activated carbon powder. Extensive sorption studies of U(VI) on the nanocomposite were conducted to know the effect of contact time, humic acid, carbonate, ionic strength and pH. The study revealed that, the composite material is a more efficient sorbent for U(VI) compared to precursors, which removes U(VI) ion without altering physicochemical properties of water. Sorption exhibits multilayer adsorption on heterogeneous surface and follows chemisorptions. Practical applicability of the material was demonsteted by spiking tap water with U(VI) ion at three different initial concentrations (50, 100 and 150 µg L^-1) and the tap water was allowed to passed through a cartridge packed with composite. It was observed that, the concentration of U(VI) ion in eluted water reduced to 98.28%, 96.20% and 97.40%, respectively. This revealed that, the material possesses a huge potential for sequestrating dissolved U(VI) ion and can be used as alternate filtering material for dissolved U(VI) in complex natural water system.