Progress and perspective in enrichment and separation of radionuclide uranium by biomass functional materials

The economical and efficient extraction of uranium from uranium-containing wastewater becomes extremely crucial issue that enables the sustainable development of nuclear energy and environmental protection. Adsorption is regarded as a promising technique for uranium enrichment and separation from solution phase due to the characteristics of easy operation, simple equipment, no energy consumption, etc. Among the adsorption materials, biomass materials show the characteristics of abundant sources, low prices, complex pore structures, rich surface functional groups, easy desorption and high reusability, etc., which is a promising material for uranium enrichment and separation. In this review, the general background and mechanism of uranium enrichment by biomass was first introduced. Besides, the influence of structural parameters on the enrichment of uranium by biomass materials was briefly discussed, and the methods of regulating the structural parameter of biomass functional materials were discussed. After gaining a certain understanding of biomass, the performances of various biomass materials to uranium enrichment and separation were systematically summarized. In addition, the environmental factors affecting the enrichment and separation performance of biomass materials towards uranium were reviewed. Subsequently, the practical applications of biomass functional materials in uranium enrichment and separation were summarized. Finally, the current deficiencies in the research on the removal of uranium by biomass functional materials were discussed, and prospects for future research on the removal of uranium by biomass functional materials were proposed.