Fabrication of Mesoporous NaZrP Cation-Exchanger for U(VI) Ions Separation from Uranyl Leach Liquors
by
Islam G. Alhindawy 1, Emad A. Elshehy 1,*
, Mohamed E. El-Khouly 2,3, Yasser K. Abdel-Monem 4 and Mohamed S. Atrees 1
Islam G. Alhindawy 1, Emad A. Elshehy 1,*, Mohamed E. El-Khouly 2,3, Yasser K. Abdel-Monem 4 and Mohamed S. Atrees 1
1
Nuclear Materials Authority, P.O. Box 530, El-Maadi, Cairo 11936, Egypt
2
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh 33516, Egypt
3
Institute of Basic and Applied Sciences, Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology, New Borg El-Arab City, Alexandria 21500, Egypt
4
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Menoufia University, Shebin El-Kom 32511, Egypt
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Colloids Interfaces 2019, 3(4), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/colloids3040061
Received: 5 August 2019 / Revised: 1 October 2019 / Accepted: 2 October 2019 / Published: 8 October 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ion Specific Effects in Colloid and Surface Science – Where Biology, Chemistry and Physics Meet)
As the demand for uranium production-based energy worldwide has been increasing in the last decades to maintain nuclear growth for electricity production, there are great efforts towards developing an easy and inexpensive method for uranium extraction and separation from its ores. For this purpose, mesoporous inorganic cation exchangers provide an efficient separation technology that can help streamline production and lower overall cost. This study describes the development of nano-structured mesoporous sodium zirconium phosphate (NaZrP-CEX) for separation and extraction of uranyl ions from real samples. The fabricated NaZrP-CEX was well characterized by various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), N2 adsorption/desorption, Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and zeta potential). The kinetics/thermodynamic behaviors of uranyl ion adsorption into NaZrP-CEX from an aqueous solution were minutely studied. The kinetic studies showed that the pseudo-second order model gave a better description for the uptake process. The negative value of ΔG indicate high feasibility and spontaneity of adsorption. Finally, mesoporous NaZrP-CEX can be regenerated using both of HNO3 (0.05 M) or HCl (1 M) up to seven cycles of operation.
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Keywords:
mesoporous materials; zircon processing; sodium zirconium phosphate; leaching; adsorption; ion exchange; uranyl ions
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MDPI and ACS Style
Alhindawy, I.G.; Elshehy, E.A.; El-Khouly, M.E.; Abdel-Monem, Y.K.; Atrees, M.S. Fabrication of Mesoporous NaZrP Cation-Exchanger for U(VI) Ions Separation from Uranyl Leach Liquors. Colloids Interfaces 2019, 3, 61.
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