Investigation of strontium and uranium sorption onto zirconium-antimony oxide/polyacrylonitrile (Zr-Sb oxide/PAN) composite using experimental design

Uranium capture from aqueous solution using palm-waste based activated carbon: sorption kinetics and equilibrium

Carbonaceous materials produced from agricultural waste (palm kernel shell) by pyrolysis can be a proper type of low-cost adsorbent for wide uses in radioactive effluent treatment. In this context, the as-produced bio-char (labeled as PBC) and its sub-driven sulfuric acid and zinc oxide activated carbons (labeled as PBC-SA, and PBC-Zn respectively) were employed as adsorbents for uranium sorption from aqueous solution. Various analytical techniques, including SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy), EXD (X-ray Diffraction), BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller), FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy), and Zeta potential, provide insights into the material characteristics. Kinetic and isotherm investigations illuminated that the sorption process using the three sorbents is nicely fitted with Pseudo-second-order-kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models. The picked data display that the equilibrium time was 60 min, and the maximum sorption capacity was 9.89, 16.8, and 21.9 mg/g for PBC, PBC-SA, and PBC-Zn respectively, which reflects the highest affinity for zinc oxide, activated bio-char, among the three adsorbents, for uranium taking out from radioactive wastewater. Sorption thermodynamics declare that the sorption of U(VI) is an exothermic, spontaneous, and feasible process. About 92% of the uranium-loaded PBC-Zn sorbent was eluted using 1.0 M CH3COONa sodium ethanoate solution, and the sorbent demonstrated proper stability for 5 consecutive sorption/desorption cycles.

A review of microbial fuel cell and its diversification in the development of green energy technology

The advancement of microbial fuel cell technology is rapidly growing, with extensive research and well-established methodologies for enhancing structural performance. This terminology attracts researchers to compare the MFC devices on a technological basis. The architectural and scientific successes of MFCs are only possible with the knowledge of engineering and technical fields. This involves the structure of MFCs, using substrates and architectural backbones regarding electrode advancement, separators and system parameter measures. Knowing about the MFCs facilitates the systematic knowledge of engineering and scientific principles. The current situation of rapid urbanization and industrial growth is demanding the augmented engineering goods and production which results in unsolicited burden on traditional wastewater treatment plants. Consequently, posing health hazards and disturbing aquatic veracity due to partial and untreated wastewater. Therefore, it's sensible to evaluate the performance of MFCs as an unconventional treatment method over conventional one to treat the wastewater. However, MFCs some benefits like power generation, stumpy carbon emission and wastewater treatment are the main reasons behind the implementation. Nonetheless, few challenges like low power generation, scaling up are still the major areas needs to be focused so as to make MFCs sustainable one. We have focused on few archetypes which majorities have been laboratory scale in operations. To ensure the efficiency MFCs are needed to integrate and compatible with conventional wastewater treatment schemes. This review intended to explore the diversification in architecture of MFCs, exploration of MFCs ingredients and to provide the foreseen platform for the researchers in one source, so as to establish the channel for scaling up the technology. Further, the present review show that the MFC with different polymer membranes and cathode and anode modification presents significant role for potential commercial applications after change the system form prototype to pilot scale.

Development of a potassium-based soil washing solution using response surface methodology for efficient removal of cesium contamination in soil

The overuse of chelating soil washing agents for removal of heavy metal can release soil nutrients and negatively affect organisms. Therefore, developing novel washing agents that can overcome these shortcomings is necessary. In this study, we tested potassium as a main solute of novel washing agent for cesium-contaminated field soil, owing to the physicochemical similarities between potassium and cesium. Response surface methodology was combined with a four-factor, three-level Box-Behnken design to determine the superlative washing conditions of the potassium-based solution for the removal of cesium from the soil. The parameters that were considered were the following: potassium concentration, liquid-to-soil ratio, washing time, and pH. Twenty-seven sets of experiments were conducted using the Box-Behnken design, and a second-order polynomial regression equation model was obtained from the results. Analysis of variance proved the significance and goodness of fit of the derived model. Three-dimensional response surface plots displayed the results of each parameter and their reciprocal interactions. The washing conditions that achieved the highest cesium removal efficiency (81.3%) in field soil contaminated at 1.47 mg/kg were determined to be the following: a potassium concentration of 1 M, a liquid-to-soil ratio of 20, washing time of 2 h, and a pH of 2.

A critical review of uranium contamination in groundwater: Treatment and sludge disposal

Dissolved uranium in groundwater at high concentrations is an emerging global threat to human and ecological health due to its radioactivity and chemical toxicity. Uranium can enter groundwater by geochemical reactions, natural deposition from minerals, mining, uranium ore processing, and spent fuel disposal. Although much progress has been made in uranium remediation in recent years, most published reviews on uranium treatment have focused on specific methods, particularly adsorption. This article systematically reviews the major treatment technologies, explains their mechanism and progress of uranium removal, and compares their performance under various environmental conditions. Of all treatment methods, adsorption has received much attention due to its ease of use and adaptability under various conditions. However, salinity and competition from other ions limit its application in actual field conditions. Biosorption and bioremediation are also promising methods due to their low-cost and chemical-free operation. Strong base anion exchange resins are more effective at typical groundwater pH conditions. Advanced oxidation processes like photocatalysis produce less sludge and are effective even at low uranium concentrations. Electrocoagulation shows significantly improved performance when organic ligands are added prior to treatment. The significant advantages of membrane filtration are high removal efficiency and the ability to recover uranium. While each technology has its merits and demerits, no single technology is entirely suitable under all conditions. One major area of concern with all technologies is the need to dispose of liquid and solid waste generated after treatment safely. Future research must focus on developing hybrid and state-of-the-art technologies for effective and sustainable uranium removal from groundwater. Developing holistic management strategies for uranium removal will hinge on understanding its speciation, mechanisms of fate and transport, and socio-economic conditions of the affected areas.

Application of response surface method in the separation of radioactive material: a review

Response Surface Method (RSM) is one of the most popular and powerful tools for experimental design and optimization. This paper first reviewed the research progress of RSM in the separation and recovery of various radioactive materials, and verified the application of RSM in adsorption isotherm analysis and thermodynamic calculation. The main advantage of RSM in radioactive material separation is the reduction in the number of experiments required, resulting in considerably less radioactive material consumption, secondary waste generation, workload and radiation dose, which is valuable for the research of radioactive material separation.

Response surface modeling with Box-Behnken design for strontium removal from soil by calcium-based solution

Owing to its physicochemical similarity to strontium (Sr), calcium (Ca) was tested as a key component of a soil washing solution for Sr-contaminated soil collected near a nuclear power plant. A four-factor, three-level Box-Behnken experimental design combined with response surface modeling was employed to determine the optimal Sr washing condition for Ca-based solution. The Ca concentration (0.1-1 M), liquid-to-soil ratio (5-20), washing time (0.5-2 h), and pH (2.0-7.0) were tested as the independent variables. From the Box-Behnken design, 27 sets of experimental conditions were selected, and a second-order polynomial regression equation was derived. The significance of the independent parameters and interactions was tested by analysis of variance. Ca concentration was found to be the most influential factor. To determine whether the four variables were independent, three-dimensional (3D) response surface plots were established. The optimal washing condition was determined to be as follows: 1 M Ca, L/S ratio of 20, 1 h washing, and pH = 2. Under this condition, the highest Sr removal efficiency (68.2%) was achieved on a soil contaminated with 90.1 mg/kg of Sr. Results from five-step sequential extraction before and after washing showed that 84.0% and 82.9% of exchangeable and carbonate-bound Sr were released, respectively. In addition, more tightly bound Sr, such as Fe/Mn oxides-bound and organic matter-bound Sr, were also removed (86.2% and 64.5% removal, respectively).

Brushite-infused polyacrylonitrile nanofiber adsorbent for strontium removal from water

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and the decommissioning of over a hundred nuclear reactors worldwide led to the increase in the demand for efficient water treatment technologies to remove radionuclides, such as ⁹⁰Sr. Brushite or dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD) is a potential adsorbent to remove strontium from water. In this study, composite poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) nanofiber (NF) adsorbents with DCPD (PAN/DCPD) were prepared, characterized, and investigated for strontium adsorption in water. Material characterization revealed mechanically suitable, hydrophilic, and macroporous composite NF adsorbents with average fiber diameters of <500 nm. As-prepared DCPD powder exhibited a superior strontium uptake capacity of 81.7 mg g^-1 at pH ≅ 10 of aqueous Sr²⁺ solution over its biogenic and synthetic predecessor, hydroxyapatite. Increased DCPD loading resulted in higher adsorption. Maximum Sr²⁺ uptake of PAN/DCPD NF with 70 wt% DCPD loading (PAN/70DCPD NF) was 146 mg g^-1 considering the Sips isotherm model. Kinetic studies revealed that Sr²⁺ removal by PAN/DCPD NF was a chemisorption process which involved ion exchange and surface complexation. PAN/70DCPD NF as a dead-end membrane filter exhibited superior removal efficiency over pure PAN NF. The overall results of this study revealed the potential application of PAN/DCPD NF adsorbent for ⁹⁰Sr removal from water.

Amidoxime Functionalization of Algal/Polyethyleneimine Beads for the Sorption of Sr(II) from Aqueous Solutions

There is a need for developing new sorbents that incorporate renewable resources for the treatment of metal-containing solutions. Algal-polyethyleneimine beads (APEI) (reinforced with alginate) are functionalized by grafting amidoxime groups (AO-APEI). Physicochemical characteristics of the new material are characterized using FTIR, XPS, TGA, SEM, SEM-EDX, and BET. AO-APEI beads are tested for the recovery of Sr(II) from synthetic solutions after pH optimization (≈ pH 6). Uptake kinetics is fast (equilibrium ≈ 60-90 min). Sorption isotherm (fitted by the Langmuir equation) shows remarkable sorption capacity (≈ 189 mg Sr g-1). Sr(II) is desorbed using 0.2 M HCl/0.5 M CaCl2 solution; sorbent recycling over five cycles shows high stability in terms of sorption/desorption performances. The presence of competitor cations is studied in relation to the pH; the selectivity for Sr(II) is correlated to the softness parameter. Finally, the recovery of Sr(II) is carried out in complex solutions (seawater samples): AO-APEI is remarkably selective over highly concentrated metal cations such as Na(I), K(I), Mg(II), and Ca(II), with weaker selectivity over B(I) and As(V). AO-APEI appears to be a promising material for selective recovery of strontium from complex solutions (including seawater).

Fabrication of Mesoporous NaZrP Cation-Exchanger for U(VI) Ions Separation from Uranyl Leach Liquors

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.

Evaluation of hydroxyapatite/poly(acrylamide-acrylic acid) for sorptive removal of strontium ions from aqueous solution

A composite polymer, hydroxyapatite/poly(acrylamide-acrylic acid), was synthesized by gamma-induced polymerization. The factors affecting the sorption process were evaluated. The removal increased with time and achieved equilibrium after 1 h for all initial concentration ranges (10-50 mg/L). The highest removal of Sr(II) was achieved using 50 mg/L at pH 6. The sorption process was found to follow a pseudo-first-order mechanism. The equilibrium data are best described by the Langmuir model, with a monolayer capacity of 53.59 mg/g. The values of thermodynamic parameters indicate that the sorption process is endothermic (ΔH > 0), increases randomness (ΔS > 0) and is spontaneous (ΔG < 0). The results imply that the composite could be used as a promising low-cost material for the removal of radionuclides from radioactive waste.

Synthesis of ion-imprinted polymer-decorated SBA-15 as a selective and efficient system for the removal and extraction of Cu(ii) with focus on optimization by response surface methodology

Ion-imprinted polymer-decorated SBA-15 (SBA-15-IIP) for the adsorption of copper was synthesized and characterized using different techniques, including FT-IR, XRD, TG/DTA, SEM, BET, and TEM.

Encapsulating Fe3O4 into calcium alginate coated chitosan hydrochloride hydrogel beads for removal of Cu (II) and U (VI) from aqueous solutions

The aim of this work was to study the removal of Cu (II) and U (VI) ions from aqueous solutions by encapsulating magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles into calcium alginate coated chitosan hydrochloride (CCM) hydrogel beads. ATR-FTIR and XRD analysis data indicated that the CCM composites were successfully prepared. SEM images and EDX spectra showed that Cu²⁺ and UO₂²⁺ ions were adhered onto sorbents. Adsorption properties for removal of both copper and uranium ions under various experimental conditions were investigated. Kinetic data and sorption equilibrium isotherms were also conducted in batch process. The sorption kinetic analysis revealed that sorption of Cu (II) and U (VI) followed the pseudo-second-order model well and exhibited 3-stage intraparticle diffusion model during the whole sorption process. Equilibrium data were best described by Langmuir model, and the CCM composite hydrogel beads showed the estimated maximum adsorption capacity 143.276mg/g and 392.692mg/g for Cu (II) and U (VI), respectively. The CCM adsorbent exhibited excellent reusability for five cycles use without significant changes in the adsorption capacity and structural stability. The results demonstrated that CCM can be an effective and promising sorbent for Cu (II) and U (VI) ions in wastewater.

Formation of Zirconium Hydrophosphate Nanoparticles and Their Effect on Sorption of Uranyl Cations

Organic-inorganic ion-exchangers were obtained by incorporation of zirconium hydrophosphate into gel-like strongly acidic polymer matrix by means of precipitation from the solution of zirconium oxychloride with phosphoric acid. The approach for purposeful control of a size of the incorporated particles has been developed based on Ostwald-Freundich equation. This equation has been adapted for precipitation in ion exchange materials. Both single nanoparticles (2-20 nm) and their aggregates were found in the polymer. Regulation of salt or acid concentration allows us to decrease size of the aggregates approximately in 10 times. Smaller particles are formed in the resin, which possess lower exchange capacity. Sorption of U(VI) cations from the solution containing also hydrochloride acid was studied. Exchange capacity of the composites is ≈2 times higher in comparison with the pristine resin. The organic-inorganic sorbents show higher sorption rate despite chemical interaction of sorbed ions with functional groups of the inorganic constituent: the models of reaction of pseudo-first or pseudo-second order can be applied. In general, decreasing in size of incorporated particles provides acceleration of ion exchange. The composites can be regenerated completely, this gives a possibility of their multiple use.

Highly efficient removal of uranium(vi) from wastewater by polyacrylic acid hydrogels

Polyacrylic acid (PAA) hydrogel prepared by radical polymerization in a clean and extremely simple way was used to adsorb U(vi) ions from aqueous solutions.

A modeling study by response surface methodology (RSM) on Sr(ii) ion dynamic adsorption optimization using a novel magnetic ion imprinted polymer

In this paper, response surface methodology (RSM) was successfully applied to optimize the dynamic adsorption conditions for the maximum removal of Sr(ii) ion from aqueous solutions using Sr(ii) ion imprinted polymers (Sr(ii)-IIPs) as adsorbents.

Statistical experimental design, least squares-support vector machine (LS-SVM) and artificial neural network (ANN) methods for modeling the facilitated adsorption of methylene blue dye

This study is based on the usage of a composite of zinc sulfide nanoparticles with activated carbon (ZnS-NPs-AC) for the adsorption of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions.

Experimental study of strontium adsorption on anatase nanoparticles as a function of size with a density functional theory and CD model interpretation

The effect of particle size on the adsorption of Sr(2+) onto monodisperse nanometer diameter (4, 20, and 40 nm) anatase samples has been evaluated quantitatively with macroscopic experimental studies. The adsorption of Sr(2+) onto the anatase particles was evaluated by potentiometric titrations in NaCl media, at two ionic strengths (0.03 and 0.3 m), and over a wide range of pH (3-11) and surface loadings, at a temperature of 25 °C. Adsorption of Sr(2+) to the surface of the 20 and 40 nm diameter samples was similar, whereas the Sr(2+) adsorption titration curves were shallower for the 4 nm diameter samples. At high pH, the smallest particles adsorbed slightly less Sr(2+) than was adsorbed by the larger particles. At the molecular scale, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to evaluate the most stable Sr(2+) surface species on the (101) anatase surface (the predominant crystal face). An inner-sphere Sr-tridentate surface species was found to be the most stable. The experimental data were described with a charge distribution (CD) and multisite complexation (MUSIC) model, with a Basic Stern layer description of the electric double layer. The resulting surface complexation model explicitly incorporated the molecular-scale information from the DFT simulation results. For 20 and 40 nm diameter anatase, the CD value for the Sr-tridentate species was calculated using a bond valence interpretation of the DFT-optimized geometry. The CD value for the 4 nm sample was smaller than that for the 20 and 40 nm samples, reflecting the shallower Sr(2+) adsorption titration curves. The adsorption differences between the smallest and larger anatase particles can be rationalized by water being more highly structured near the 4 nm anatase sample and/or the Sr-tridentate surface species may require more well-developed surface terraces than are present on the 4 nm particles.

Strontium selectivity in sodium nonatitanate Na ₄Ti₉O₂₀·xH₂O

We study the extraction of strontium by sodium nonatitanate powder from nitrate strontium and acetate sodium mixture. Experiments show that adsorption is quantitative. The excess Gibbs free energy has been modeled by various models (ideal, 2D Coulomb, regular solution model) for the solid phase. We find that the free energy of the solid phase is controlled by short-range interactions rather than long-ranged Coulombic forces. The selectivity is the consequence of a competition between the liquid and solid phases: both phases prefer strontium rather than sodium but the solid contribution is predominant.