Synthesis and practical scale system of braid adsorbent for uranium recovery from seawater

Tamada, Masao; Seko, Noriaki; Kasai, Noboru; Shimizu, Takao*

FAPIG, (169), p.3 - 12, 2005/03

Braid adsorbent having functional group of amidoxime is a promising material for the recovery of uranium dissolved in the seawater. This braid adsorbent was made by polyethylene multi-fibers in which amidoxime groups were introduced by radiation-induced graft polymerization and subsequent chemical treatment. Reaction time for graft polymerization was 5 h and the resulted braid adsorbent had 2.8 mmol/g-adsorbent of amidoxime group. The braid adsorbent obtained was moored at the offing of Okinawa Island. The adsorption of uranium reached 1.5g/kg-adsorbent for 30 d soaking. The mooring system for braid adsorbent has possibility which reduced the cost for the recovery of uranium from seawater. It is shown that 134 km of mooring area is needed for annual product of 1200 tons of uranium. In addition, there is 6000 km and more of suitable sea area for the collection of the uranium in the regions from Okinawa Islands to Tosa Bay in Japan.

Development of the fiber absorbent for sea water uranium sampling by radiation graft polymerization

Kaiyo Kagaku, 17(4), p.71 - 74, 1985/00

no abstracts in English