A high-flux phytic acid functionalized SiO2 blend polysulfone ultrafiltration membrane for extraction of uranium from seawater

Haowen Sun, Qi Liu*, Jingyuan Liu, Jiahui Zhu, Jing Yu, Rongrong Chen, Rumin Li, Jun Wang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Uranium is a strategic resource which is found in quantities of 4.5 billion tons in seawater. For exacting U(VI) efficiently from seawater, this study involves the preparation of a polysulfone (PSF)-based phytic acid-silica blended membrane (PA-SiO2/PSF) through the incorporation of silicon dioxide particles (SiO2) and phytic acid (PA) into the polysulfone ultrafiltration membrane. A large number of adsorption sites was contributed by PA, serving as the primary factor in enhancing the U(VI) adsorption performance of PSF. Meanwhile, silica can be used as a carrier of PA to improve the performance of PSF. The addition of hydrophilic SiO2 and PA increases the water flux (380 L·h−1·m−2) and hydrophilicity (contact angle = 61.8°) of PSF. The modified PSF demonstrates a negative potential under neutral pH conditions. Notably, at pH = 7, PA-SiO2/PSF exhibits the highest adsorption performance (qe = 1052.01 mg/m2) and selectivity (Kd = 16161.96 mL/m2) for U(VI), with an 82 % recovery ratio of U(VI) achieved after five adsorption-desorption cycles. Moreover, the dynamic adsorption effect of PA-SiO2/PSF surpasses that of static adsorption. Therefore, this study presents a straightforward method of modifying polysulfone membranes, with potential applicability in uranium adsorption from seawater.

Original languageEnglish
Article number113749
JournalJournal of Environmental Chemical Engineering
Volume12
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2024
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Dynamic adsorption
  • Phytic acid
  • Polysulfone blended membrane
  • Uranium extraction from seawater

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