Extraction of uranium from seawater by the fibrous composite adsorbent

The fibrous composite adsorbents consisting of hydrous titanium oxide and activated carbon were prepared with hydrophilic polyacrylonitrile system polymer as a binder under various conditions, and the adsorptive property of the fibrous composite adsorbents for uranium from seawater was examined. The fibrous composite adsorbents which spun under high pressure (10 kg/cm2) was the finest having the largest pore volume. In addition, the amount of uranium adsorbed of the fibrous adsorbent was the largest. The rate of uranium adsorption by the fibrous adsorbent was the same as the rate of uranium adsorption by the powdery adsorbent. The excellent fibrous adsorbent adsorbed 0.23 mg U/g adsorbent for 10 d and 0.65 mg U/g adsorbent for 100 d. The rate of uranium desorption from the fibrous adsorbent by alkali carbonate solution was large, and the uranium in the fibrous adsorbent desorbed 75 % for 8 h and about 100 % for 24 h. (author)