Studies on sorption of uranium on chitin: a solid-state extractant application for removal of uranium from ground water

Studies were carried out to remove uranium from aqueous systems based on the solid phase extraction of uranium by powdered chitin. The effects of various parameters like pH, contact time, and amount of chitin for quantitative sorption of uranium on chitin have been studied. The sorption studies with spiked water samples and natural ground water samples showed that uranium was easily sorbed onto powdered chitin between pH 3 and 6. The effects of various cations and anions, which are present in the water samples, were studied. The method is simple, fast and environmental friendly and it is unaffected by the other ions present in the natural waters. The accuracy of the method was evaluated by applying the present method on ground water samples containing uranium in the range of 100-2,200 μg/L. The uranium remained in water samples is <20 μg/L after treatment with chitin, which is below the AERB limits given for uranium in drinking water. The values are an average of five replicate measurements, with an RSD of ±10 μg/L at 100 μg/L uranium in water samples. (author)