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Removal of uranium from aqueous solution by using activated palm kernel shell carbon: adsorption equilibrium and kinetics

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Abstract

Activated palm kernel shell carbon (APKSC) was used to remove U(VI) from aqueous solutions in a batch system. The adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and effects of various parameters, such as temperature, contact time, solution pH, adsorbent dosage, and initial U(VI) concentration on the U(VI) adsorption process were studied. Equilibrium was reached after 120 min in the range of studied U(VI) concentrations and temperatures. U(VI) uptake was insignificantly affected by temperature, but was highly pH dependent, and the optimum pH for removal was 5.5. U(VI) removal efficiency increased with the increasing adsorbent dosage. U(VI) sorption capacity increased with increasing initial U(VI) concentration; any further increases in initial U(VI) concentration above a certain point caused insignificant changes in U(VI) sorption capacity. Isotherm data could be described by the Langmuir isotherm model with a maximum U(VI) adsorption capacity of 51.81 mg/g. Kinetic data were fitted to pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order equations, which suggested that the U(VI) adsorption onto APKSC was better reproduced by the pseudo-second-order model rather than pseudo-first-order model. Our results indicated that APKSC might be used as a cheap adsorbent in the treatment of uranium-containing wastewater.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by grants from the Key Project of Science and Technology Plan of Hunan Province (2012FJ2002), the International Joint Key Project from Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (2010DFB23160), National Natural Science Foundation of China (41273092 and 41273131) and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2012M510322).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Functional Organometallic Materials of College of Hunan Province, Department of Chemistry and Material Science, Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, 421008, China

    Zheng-ji Yi, Jin-sheng Xu, Man-sheng Chen & Wei Li

  2. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and National International Cooperation Base on Environment and Energy, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Xueyuan Road No. 30, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, China

    Zheng-ji Yi, Jun Yao, Hui-lun Chen & Fei Wang

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  1. Zheng-ji Yi
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  2. Jun Yao
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  3. Jin-sheng Xu
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  4. Man-sheng Chen
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  5. Wei Li
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  6. Hui-lun Chen
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  7. Fei Wang
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Correspondence to Jun Yao or Jin-sheng Xu.

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Yi, Zj., Yao, J., Xu, Js. et al. Removal of uranium from aqueous solution by using activated palm kernel shell carbon: adsorption equilibrium and kinetics. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 301, 695–701 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-014-3242-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-014-3242-7

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