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Efficient removal of uranium(VI) from aqueous systems by heat-treated carbon microspheres

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Abstract

In this study, uranium(VI) was successfully removed from aqueous solutions using heat-treated carbon microspheres based on a batch adsorption technique. Influence of the parameters, such as solution pH, contact time, initial uranium(VI) concentration, and temperature on the removal efficiency have been investigated in detail. The results reveal that the maximum adsorption capacity of the heat-treated carbon microspheres toward uranium(VI) is 92.08 mg g−1, displaying a high efficiency for the removal of uranium(VI) from aqueous solution. The experimental data are analyzed using sorption kinetic models. It is revealed that the process obey the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, the determining step might be chemical sorption. The thermodynamic parameters, such as ΔH°, ΔS°, and ΔG° show that the process is endothermic and spontaneous. This work provides an efficient, fast, and convenient approach for the removal of uranium(VI) from aqueous solutions.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by Special Innovation Talents of Harbin Science and Technology (2011RFQXG016), Fundamental Research Funds of the Central University (HEUCFZ), Key Program of the Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province (ZD201219), Program of International S&T Cooperation special project (2013DFA50480), Special Innovation Talents of Harbin Science andTechnology (2012RFXXG104).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Superlight Material and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, 150001, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaofei Zhang, Jun Wang, Rumin Li, Qi Liu, Lei Li, Jing Yu & Milin Zhang

  2. Institute of Advanced Marine Materials, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, 150001, China

    Jun Wang & Lianhe Liu

Authors
  1. Xiaofei Zhang
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  2. Jun Wang
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  3. Rumin Li
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  4. Qi Liu
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  5. Lei Li
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  6. Jing Yu
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  7. Milin Zhang
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  8. Lianhe Liu
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Correspondence to Jun Wang.

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Responsible editor: Vera Slaveykova

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Zhang, X., Wang, J., Li, R. et al. Efficient removal of uranium(VI) from aqueous systems by heat-treated carbon microspheres. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 8202–8209 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-1788-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-1788-5

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