Comparative study on the performance of natural and synthesized adsorbents onto uranium (VI) sorption

Abstract

The aim of this study is to compare the performance of natural and synthesized material to adsorb uranium. Synthesized Silico-Alumino-Phosphate (SAPO) material is compared to raw and chemically activated Algerian Aleppo pine sawdust (Raw-AAPS and CA-AAPS). The uranium sorption parameters, isotherms modelling, kinetic modelling and decontamination factor results, showed that adsorbents used are effective for the removal of uranium (VI) ions and the performance of the adsorbents follows the order: SAPO > CA-AAPS> Raw-AAPS. The natural material presents less sorption capacity comparatively to the synthesized adsorbent, but it is economically favored because of its abundance in nature and its low cost.