Uranyl ions adsorption by novel metal hydroxides loaded Amberlite IR120

• Novel metal hydroxides loaded Amberlite IR120 have been prepared for uranium adsorption.
• The maximum adsorption capacity of UO22+ were determined to be 439 mg/g and 451 mg/g for Ni-MA and Co–MA, respectively.
• The adsorption mechanism could be explained by the presence of a double effect of an inner sphere complex and ionic exchange.

In this work, Ni(OH)2-loaded Amberlite IR120 (Ni–MA) and Co(OH)2-loaded Amberlite IR120 (Co–MA) resins were prepared, characterized and applied for UO22+ removal from aqueous solutions. The adsorption characteristics were investigated in a batch system with respect to effect of contact time, pH, equilibrium isotherms and removal kinetics data. The results indicated that the UO22+ could be efficiently removed from aqueous solutions at pH = 3.5 using Ni–MA and Co–MA resins. The maximum adsorption capacities for the UO22+ of Ni–MA and Co–MA were found to be 439 mg/g and 451 mg/g respectively. The equilibrium data fit well with the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Kinetics study showed that the adsorption process was fast and reached equilibrium within 60 min and the kinetics data fit well with pseudo-second order and intra-particle diffusion models for both resins. The adsorption mechanism has been proposed and discussed. It was found that both Ni–MA and Co–MA resins could be used effectively for UO22+ removal from aqueous solutions.

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