Synthesis and Evaluation of Reusable Desferrioxamine B Immobilized on Polymeric Spherical Microparticles for Uranium Recovery

• Published in: Industrial & engineering chemistry research Vol. 58; no. 38; pp. 17928 - 17936
• Main Authors: Takagai, Yoshitaka, Abe, Miki, Oonuma, Chisa, Butsugan, Michio, Kerlin, William, Czerwinski, Ken, Sudowe, Ralf
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 25.09.2019
• ISSN: 0888-5885; 1520-5045
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.9b02727

Development of techniques for the separation and removal of uranium from wastewater and other sources is an active area of research because of the increasing demand for uranium for nuclear energy generation. However, reusable adsorption materials with specific sizes and uniform shapes that can exhibit high affinity for uranium are still scarce. In this work, we describe the modification of an acrylic micropolymer resin with desferrioxamine B and the evaluation of its adsorption property for uranium­(VI). The obtained microparticles with specific sizes exhibit a uniform spherical shape, thus enabling the design of either batch or continuous flow column adsorption systems with good adsorption ability for U­(VI) and can endure high-pressure conditions [at least 100 kgf/cm2 (equal to 9.8 MPa)]. The mechanism of adsorption is investigated using chemical kinetics and thermodynamics. Selectivity experiments reveal that the present system adsorbs U selectively in the presence of high competitive ion concentrations. Furthermore, the reusability of the resin after 10 adsorption–desorption cycles is demonstrated.