Uranium(VI) Adsorption from Aqueous Solutions on the Synthesized Nano- Zeolite Beta

Abstract

In this study nano-crystalline zeolite beta is synthesized with tetraethyl ammonium hydroxide as a template with the aim of separation of Uranium (VI) from radioactive waste, and characterized by XRD, IR, XRF and BET surface area measurements. Furthermore, ion-exchange properties of synthetic nano-crystalline zeolite beta were evaluated for batch system by calculating the percentage of uranium ions adsorption. The effects of variables such as initial concentration, pH and contact time between the exchanger and liquid phase, on the adsorption of the U(VI) ions were investigated and optimized. The results revealed that in the optimal conditions including the initial concentration of 80 ppm, pH=4, and contact time of 120 min, the percentage of U(VI) ions adsorbed by the synthesized zeolite beta was 94%.

Keywords

• adsorption
• uranium (vi)
• aqueous solutions
• zeolite beta