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Updated: Aug 28, 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
A coupling model for simulating the synergistic remediation of uranium in groundwater by microorganisms and
Fuxin Zheng1, Weifeng Yue2, Zhaokun Li1
1Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Engineering and Metallurgy, CNNC, Beijing 101149, China; National Key Laboratory of Uranium Resources Exploration-Mining and Nuclear Remote Sensing, Nanchang 330013, China.
Abstract:
Due to the complexity of uranium chemistry, the remediation of uranium contamination in groundwater remains challenging to assess. In this study, a biological permeable reactive barrier (Bio-PRB) consisting of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and biochar-Fe0@Fe3O4 was established. The removal process of U(VI) by the Bio-PRB was conducted through batch experiments and coupled numerical model. The results showed that SRB primarily removed U(VI) through reduction, which followed first-order reaction kinetics. Biochar-Fe0@Fe3O4 removed uranium via adsorption, with U(VI) forming uranyl carbonate complexes on the material surface. The remediation efficiency of both SRB and biochar-Fe0@Fe3O4 in simulated aquifer was significantly lower than that observed in static experiments due to the shorter hydraulic retention time. Microorganisms can effectively enhance biochar-Fe0@Fe3O4 performance. Compared with PRB, the Bio-PRB delayed the arrival of the uranium plume by 32 days, and the system lifespan was extended by 2.7 times. Increasing the thickness of the Bio-PRB is the most cost-effective way to improve remediation performance. Due to the nonlinear behavior of reaction kinetics and dose effects, only a slight increase in PRB width is required to address higher uranium concentration. The study can provide guidance for the design of groundwater uranium remediation systems in real sites.
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