Recovery of uranium using epoxy-modified phosphorus pentasulfide as an efficient adsorbent for uranium extraction...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Nuclear Chemistry

Background:

• Uranium contamination in aquatic environments poses significant risks.
• Developing efficient and cost-effective sorbent materials for uranium recovery is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize a novel epoxy-modified phosphorus pentasulfide (EPMPS) formulation for supported uranium recovery.
• To evaluate the adsorption and elution performance of EPMPS for uranium removal from aqueous solutions.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of a rigid, foamed polymeric material rich in P, N, S, and O atoms.
• Characterization using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
• Adsorption and elution experiments under optimized conditions (pH, time, concentration, phase ratio).

Main Results:

• EPMPS demonstrated a 90% uranium adsorption efficiency at equilibrium time of 30 min.
• An 85% uranium elution was achieved using 0.1 M sodium acetate.
• The material exhibited a high uranium adsorption capability of approximately 78.7 mg g^-1.

Conclusions:

• The developed EPMPS formulation is a promising substrate for supported uranium recovery from aquatic environments.
• EPMPS shows excellent performance in actual samples, particularly from nitrate media.