Studies on adsorption of uranium (VI) from aqueous solution by wheat straw

A fundamental investigation on the removal of uranium from aqueous solutions by wheat straw was conducted in batch conditions. The influence of different experimental parameters such as modified methods, pH, contact time, adsorbent dose, initial concentration, and temperature, on the kinetics of uranium removal was studied. The results showed that the higher adsorption rate of uranium on wheat straw was modified by NaOH. At 303 K and pH was 3.0, the saturation adsorption was up to 1.20 mg/g at approximately 120 min. The uranium uptake was quantitatively evaluated using sorption isotherms and the correlation coefficients showed that the Freundlich model gave a better fit than the Langmuir equation. The process followed a pseudo-second-order kinetics. Scanning electron microscope coupled with Fourier transform infrared analysis for wheat straw, demonstrated that uranium-containing sites existed on the surface structure with hydroxyl, carbonyl, P?O and Si?O groups. (C) 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2011