Selective adsorption of uranium (VI) from wastewater using a UiO-66/calcium alginate/hydrothermal carbon composite material

Uranium mining, smelting, and nuclear industries generate a considerable amount of wastewater containing uranium. To treat this wastewater effectively and inexpensively, a novel hydrogel material (cUiO-66/CA) was developed by co-immobilizing UiO-66 with calcium alginate and hydrothermal carbon. Batch tests were conducted to determine the optimal adsorption conditions for uranium using cUiO-66/CA, and the adsorption behavior was spontaneous and endothermic, confirming the quasi-second-order dynamics model and the Langmuir model. At a temperature of 308.15 K and pH = 4, the maximum adsorption capacity of uranium was 337.77 mg g-1. The surface appearance and interior structure of the material were analyzed using SEM, FTIR, XPS, BET, and XRD techniques. The results indicated two possible uranium adsorption processes of cUiO-66/CA: (1) Ca2+ and UO22+ ion exchange process and (2) coordination of uranyl ions with hydroxyl and carboxyl ions to form complexes. cUiO-66/CA exhibited strong selectivity for U (VI) in a multicomponent mixed solution and uranium-containing wastewater, with uranium removal rates of 99.03 % and 81.45 %, respectively. The hydrogel material demonstrated excellent acid resistance, and the uranium adsorption rate exceeded 98 % in the pH range of 3-8. Therefore, this study suggests that cUiO-66/CA has the potential to treat uranium-containing wastewater in a broad pH range.