Phosphorus-functionalized Porphyra toward uranium removal from water.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Materials Science
• Marine Biotechnology

Background:

• Marine biomass valorization is crucial for sustainable resource use.
• Biomass-based adsorbents show promise for water remediation.
• Developing efficient adsorbents for heavy metal removal is a key challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create a novel phosphorus-functionalized Porphyra (P-Porphyra) adsorbent.
• To investigate its application in uranium adsorption from aqueous solutions.
• To explore a sustainable method for marine biomass utilization.

Main Methods:

• Combined ball-milling treatment and phosphorylation modification of Porphyra.
• Conducted batch adsorption experiments to determine optimal conditions (pH 4.0).
• Utilized FTIR and XPS for mechanistic analysis.

Main Results:

• P-Porphyra achieved a maximum uranium adsorption capacity of 262.76 mg·g⁻¹.
• Adsorption followed pseudo-second-order kinetics and Langmuir isotherm.
• Effective uranium adsorption observed in real seawater (0.90 mg·g⁻¹).
• Phosphate group complexation with uranium ions was identified as the primary mechanism.

Conclusions:

• P-Porphyra is a highly effective adsorbent for uranium removal.
• The developed method offers a green, scalable, and cost-effective approach.
• This study highlights the potential of Porphyra for sustainable marine resource utilization and water remediation.