A new sorbent for uranium extraction: ethylenediamino tris(methylenephosphonic) acid grafted on polystyrene resin

A new chelating polymeric sorbent has been developed using polystyrene resin grafted with ethylenediamino tris(methylenephosphonic) acid. After characterisation by FTIR and elementary analysis, the new grafted resin has been investigated in liquid-solid extraction of uranium(VI). The influence of analytical parameters including pH, amount of resin, metal ion concentration, sample volume and ionic strength were investigated on the recovery of U(VI). Adsorption kinetic and isotherm studies were also carried out to understand the nature of the sorption of uranium(VI) by the resin. The total sorption capacity was found to be 41.76 mg/g under optimum conditions. The total desorption of the sorbed uranium ions was successfully performed with 0.1 M ammonium carbonate. Further, the effect of temperature was realized and the thermodynamic parameters were calculated.