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Title: Characterization and testing of amidoxime-based adsorbent materials to extract uranium from natural seawater

Abstract

Extraction of uranium (U) from seawater for use as a nuclear fuel is a significant challenge due to the low concentration of U in seawater (~3.3 ppb) and difficulties to selectively extract U from the background of major and trace elements in seawater. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) s Marine Sciences Laboratory (MSL) has been serving as a marine test site for determining performance characteristics (adsorption capacity, adsorption kinetics, and selectivity) of novel amidoxime-based polymeric adsorbents developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) under natural seawater exposure conditions. This report describes the performance of three formulations (38H, AF1, AI8) of amidoxime-based polymeric adsorbent produced at ORNL in MSL s ambient seawater testing facility. The adsorbents were produced in two forms, fibrous material (40-100 mg samples) and braided material (5-10 g samples), exposed to natural seawater using flow-through columns and recirculating flumes. All three formulations demonstrated high 56 day uranium adsorption capacity (>3 gU/kg adsorbent). The AF1 formulation had the best uranium adsorption performance, with 56-day capacity of 3.9 g U/kg adsorbent, saturation capacity of 5.4 g U/kg adsorbent, and ~25 days half-saturation time. The two exposure methods, flow-through columns and flumes were demonstrated to produce similar performance results, providingmore » confidence that the test methods were reliable, that scaling up from 10 s of mg quantities of exposure in flow-through columns to gram quantities in flumes produced similar results, and that the manufacturing process produces a homogenous adsorbent. Adsorption kinetics appear to be element specific, with half-saturation times ranging from minutes for the major cations in seawater to 8-10weeks for V and Fe. Reducing the exposure time provides a potential pathway to improve the adsorption capacity of U by reducing the V/U ratio on the adsorbent.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
OSTI Identifier:
1265762
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-00OR22725
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 55; Journal Issue: 15; Journal ID: ISSN 0888-5885
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; Uranium; Seawater; Amidoxime; Adsorption; Marine testing

Citation Formats

Kuo, Li-Jung, Janke, Christopher James, Wood, Jordana, Strivens, Jonathan E., and Gill, Gary. Characterization and testing of amidoxime-based adsorbent materials to extract uranium from natural seawater. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1021/acs.iecr.5b03267.
Kuo, Li-Jung, Janke, Christopher James, Wood, Jordana, Strivens, Jonathan E., & Gill, Gary. Characterization and testing of amidoxime-based adsorbent materials to extract uranium from natural seawater. United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.5b03267
Kuo, Li-Jung, Janke, Christopher James, Wood, Jordana, Strivens, Jonathan E., and Gill, Gary. 2015. "Characterization and testing of amidoxime-based adsorbent materials to extract uranium from natural seawater". United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.5b03267. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1265762.
@article{osti_1265762,
title = {Characterization and testing of amidoxime-based adsorbent materials to extract uranium from natural seawater},
author = {Kuo, Li-Jung and Janke, Christopher James and Wood, Jordana and Strivens, Jonathan E. and Gill, Gary},
abstractNote = {Extraction of uranium (U) from seawater for use as a nuclear fuel is a significant challenge due to the low concentration of U in seawater (~3.3 ppb) and difficulties to selectively extract U from the background of major and trace elements in seawater. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) s Marine Sciences Laboratory (MSL) has been serving as a marine test site for determining performance characteristics (adsorption capacity, adsorption kinetics, and selectivity) of novel amidoxime-based polymeric adsorbents developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) under natural seawater exposure conditions. This report describes the performance of three formulations (38H, AF1, AI8) of amidoxime-based polymeric adsorbent produced at ORNL in MSL s ambient seawater testing facility. The adsorbents were produced in two forms, fibrous material (40-100 mg samples) and braided material (5-10 g samples), exposed to natural seawater using flow-through columns and recirculating flumes. All three formulations demonstrated high 56 day uranium adsorption capacity (>3 gU/kg adsorbent). The AF1 formulation had the best uranium adsorption performance, with 56-day capacity of 3.9 g U/kg adsorbent, saturation capacity of 5.4 g U/kg adsorbent, and ~25 days half-saturation time. The two exposure methods, flow-through columns and flumes were demonstrated to produce similar performance results, providing confidence that the test methods were reliable, that scaling up from 10 s of mg quantities of exposure in flow-through columns to gram quantities in flumes produced similar results, and that the manufacturing process produces a homogenous adsorbent. Adsorption kinetics appear to be element specific, with half-saturation times ranging from minutes for the major cations in seawater to 8-10weeks for V and Fe. Reducing the exposure time provides a potential pathway to improve the adsorption capacity of U by reducing the V/U ratio on the adsorbent.},
doi = {10.1021/acs.iecr.5b03267},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1265762}, journal = {Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research},
issn = {0888-5885},
number = 15,
volume = 55,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Nov 19 00:00:00 EST 2015},
month = {Thu Nov 19 00:00:00 EST 2015}
}

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Works referenced in this record:

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journal, May 2015


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Works referencing / citing this record:

Amidoxime Polymers for Uranium Adsorption: Influence of Comonomers and Temperature
journal, November 2017


A highly efficient uranium grabber derived from acrylic fiber for extracting uranium from seawater
journal, January 2020


Engineering robust metal–phenolic network membranes for uranium extraction from seawater
journal, January 2019