Amir A. Elzoghby , Hager Fahmy , Osama E. Roshdy , Ahmed M. Masoud , Ahmed M. Ismail , Mohamed H. Taha , Saber Ibrahim
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
The sustainable management of radioactive wastewater requires low-cost and eco-friendly materials capable of efficiently removing U(VI) from aqueous systems. In this work, recycled pottery waste, a ubiquitous aluminosilicate by-product, was thermally activated at 550, 650, and 750 °C to produce novel sorbents (RP1–RP3) for U(VI) adsorption. The materials were comprehensively characterized by XRD, SEM–EDS, BET, DLS, zeta potential, and FTIR to elucidate structural and surface modifications induced by calcination. The results revealed a progressive improvement in crystallinity, porosity, and surface charge with temperature, culminating in RP3 (750 °C) exhibiting the highest surface area (34.35 m2 g−1) and most negative zeta potential (−38.46 mV). Batch adsorption studies demonstrated that U(VI) removal strongly depended on pH, sorbent dose, and contact time, with optimal uptake achieved at pH ≈ 4. The adsorption followed pseudo-second-order kinetics and was best fitted by the Langmuir and Sips isotherm models, confirming monolayer chemisorption on homogeneous active sites. The maximum adsorption capacities reached 49.5 mg g−1 for RP3, while thermodynamic parameters indicated a spontaneous, endothermic, and entropy-driven process. Mechanistic interpretation supported a multi-step pathway involving electrostatic attraction, surface complexation, and intraparticle diffusion. RP3 exhibited excellent reusability, maintaining >87% adsorption efficiency after five cycles using H2SO4 as an effective desorbing agent. When tested with real radioactive wastewater, RP3 achieved a 74.2% U(VI) removal efficiency despite competing ions, confirming its high selectivity and structural stability. This study establishes thermally activated recycled pottery as a cost-effective, reusable, and environmentally sustainable sorbent for uranium (VI) remediation, integrating waste valorization with Radioprotection.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Environmental Radioactivity provides a coherent international forum for publication of original research or review papers on any aspect of the occurrence of radioactivity in natural systems.
Relevant subject areas range from applications of environmental radionuclides as mechanistic or timescale tracers of natural processes to assessments of the radioecological or radiological effects of ambient radioactivity. Papers deal with naturally occurring nuclides or with those created and released by man through nuclear weapons manufacture and testing, energy production, fuel-cycle technology, etc. Reports on radioactivity in the oceans, sediments, rivers, lakes, groundwaters, soils, atmosphere and all divisions of the biosphere are welcomed, but these should not simply be of a monitoring nature unless the data are particularly innovative.