Uranium removal from contaminated groundwater using goethite-loaded composite microporous membrane

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science and Engineering
• Materials Science
• Water Treatment Technologies

Background:

• Groundwater contamination by uranium poses significant environmental and health risks.
• Conventional uranium removal methods can be energy-intensive and costly.
• Development of efficient, low-energy water treatment solutions is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize a novel goethite-loaded composite microfiltration membrane (GLM) for uranium removal.
• To elucidate the uranium adsorption mechanisms on the GLM using surface complexation modeling.
• To evaluate the performance of GLM under environmentally relevant conditions and low energy requirements.

Main Methods:

• Immobilization of goethite nanorods onto a poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) microfiltration membrane.
• Investigation of U(VI) adsorption using batch experiments and surface complexation modeling (SCM).
• Performance evaluation of GLM at field-relevant pH (8.5) and varying hydraulic residence times.

Main Results:

• Optimal U(VI) adsorption of 4.95 μg·mg⁻¹ achieved at a goethite loading of 1.20 mg·cm⁻².
• GLM treated 275 L of water with 200 μg·L⁻¹ U(VI) down to below WHO limits (30 μg·L⁻¹).
• SCM accurately predicted uranium adsorption trends observed in batch and membrane experiments (RMSE of 0.055).

Conclusions:

• The novel goethite-loaded membrane demonstrates high potential for effective uranium removal from contaminated groundwater.
• The study elucidates uranium adsorption mechanisms via bidentate surface complex formation.
• GLM offers a low-energy, efficient solution for uranium remediation in water treatment.