Selective uranium adsorption on activated carbon

The environmental pollution is the most serious problem that should be taken into consideration due to increasing population and growth of technology. However, a number of investigations have been performed to prevent environmental pollution. The adsorption process has long been used in the water and waste water industry for removal of color, odor and organic pollution. In order to concentrate aqueous nuclear waste solutions containing metal ions into smaller volume, many processes are being used, such as precipitation, ion-exchange, solvent extraction and adsorption. Adsorption of uranium onto various solids is important from purification, environmental and radioactive waste disposal point of view. Uranium is an element of considerable technological importance. Nuclear power is derived from uranium, which has no significant commercial use other than as a fuel for electricity generation. For this reason, the recovery, concentration and purification of uranium are of great importance. Because of the expected shortage of uranium in near future, further researches are to be directed to the recovery of uranium from nonconventional resources such as natural waters, sea water, industrial waste waters, mine waste water, and other waste sources in relation to the pollution of the natural environment.The activated carbon has strong affinity for organic molecules and contains oxygenated functional groupings on the entire surface which are capable of sorbing metal ions from aqueous solutions. Furthermore, high chemical radiation and thermal stability, rigid porous structure and mechanical strength impart considerable advantages over polymeric materials. Activated carbon, due to its selective adsorption, high radiation stability and high purity is often used for the separation of ions from aqueous solutions