Uranium (VI) removal from aqueous solution using iron-carbon micro-electrolysis packing

Iron-based materials have attracted much attention in water treatment because of excellent ability to treat pollutants. In this study, self-made iron-carbon micro-electrolysis packing (IMP) was introduced to treat uranium-bearing wastewater (UBW). The effects of the IMP dosage, initial pH of solution and initial U(VI) concentration was investigated. The comparison of material adsorption performance and repeated desorption experiments were also accomplished under the optimum conditions. The mechanism of treating UBW by IMP was revealed by studying the change of IMP's surface properties characterized before and after adsorption by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Mossbauer spectra (MS). Research results demonstrated that IMP is suitable for the treatment of UBW with low concentration at acid condition (pH < 5). SEM results indicated that uranium was deposited on the surface of IMP in the form of tidy fine particles. The most important reason for uranium removal was determined as the reduction of soluble U(VI) to insoluble U(IV) by IMP. The advantages of IMP for UBW treatment were verified with rapidity, high efficiency, and durability. Therefore, IMP could be considered as a positive material for uranium removal from UBW.