A novel 3D reticular anti-fouling bio-adsorbent for uranium extraction from seawater: Polyethylenimine and guanidyl functionalized hemp fibers

Abstract Plenty of uranium resources were consumed with the development of nuclear energy. Therefore, the effective collection of uranium resources has been received much focus. It is well known that the amount of uranium resources in the seawater is abundant. However, the extremely low concentration of U(VI) and complex environments pose are considerable challenges for the extraction of uranium. Herein, the polyethylenimine (PEI) and Guanidineacetic acid (GDAC) were covalently grafted onto the surface of the hemp fibers (HF) to prepare a novel 3D reticular anti-fouling green adsorption material. Subsequently, a series of adsorption batch experiments were performed to evaluate the performance of the adsorbent. The experimental results showed that the maximum adsorption capacity of HF-PEI-GDAC is 414.93 mg/g. Meanwhile, the adsorbent exhibited great adsorption properties in simulated seawater. In addition, the adsorbent still presents excellent resistance to the algae adhesion after 15 days. Therefore, the HF-PEI-GDAC can be considered as a highly promising adsorbent for the extraction of U(VI) from seawater.