A Test of Uranium Recovery from Seawater with a Packed Bed of Amidoxime Fiber Adsorbent

Uranium in seawater was recovered in this study by adsorption with amidoxime fibers synthesized from commercial PAN fibers. To confirm the stability of the fibers and the applicability of an adsorption bed model, a test was performed in a bay in southwest Japan. The amidoxime fiber was packed in an adsorption bed which was towed for 30 hours at a velocity of 1 m·s−1 or moored in the bay for 37 days. The amount of uranium adsorbed agreed well with the simulation model, and the adsorption fiber proved to be resistant to biological erosion.