Comparative Analysis of Uranium Removal From Water by Amended Waste Based Adsorbents

Abstract

Uranium (U) in drinking water has toxic and carcinogenic effects on human beings and therefore needs to be removed before drinking. This study used waste-based amended adsorbent materials, copper microparticles (CMP), treated bio sludge (TBS), and treated graphene oxide (TGO), for the removal of uranium toxicity from water. FE-SEM images of CMP, TBS, and TGO adsorbents represented sulfur and manganese on the surface of CMP, TBS, and TGO after chemical treatment, which increased the active surface area and simultaneously attached sites for the uranium in the order of TGO > CMP > TBS and played the crucial role in the removal of uranium from the contaminated water. TGO was the most suitable adsorbent, followed by CMP and TBS, for the removal of U from water. The maximum adsorption capacity of uranium was 0.135 mg/g of TGO, followed by the CMP and TBS at 0.128 and 0.084 mg/g; however, the optimum percentage of removal of U from the water was in the order of 90.2%, 76.8%, and 60.5% by TGO, CMP, and TBS, respectively.