Removal of U(VI) from aqueous solution using synthesized β-zeolite and its ethylenediamine derivative

β-Zeolite was synthesized and modified with ethylenediamine (EDA).The synthesized materials were characterized and used for removal of U(VI) from aqueous solutions. The influences of pH, contact time and temperature on U(VI) adsorption onto synthesized β-zeolite and modified β-zeolite by ethylenediamine (β-zeolite-EDA) were studied by batch technique, and XPS was employed to analysed the experimental data. The dynamic process showed that the adsorption of U(VI) onto β-zeolite and β-zeolite-EDA matched the pseudo-second-order kinetics model, and the adsorption of U(VI) were significantly dependent on pH values. Through simulating the adsorption isotherms by Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubini-Radushkevich (D-R) models, it could be seen respectively that the adsorption patterns of U(VI) onto β-zeolite and β-zeolite-EDA were mainly controlled by surface complexation, and the adsorption processes were endothermic and spontaneous. XPS analysis considered the formation of different complexes at different experimental conditions. The modification of β-zeolite by ethylenediamine improved the adsorption capacity of U(VI) significantly, it shows a novel material for the removing of U(VI) from water environment for industrialized application.