Adsorption of uranium(VI) from sulphate solutions using Amberlite IRA-402 resin: Equilibrium, kinetics and thermodynamics study

In the present study, adsorption of uranium from sulphate solutions was evaluated using Amberlite IRA-402 resin. The variation of adsorption process was investigated in batch sorption mode. The parameters studied were pH, contact time and adsorbent dosage. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were used in order to present a mathematical description of the equilibrium data at three different temperatures (25 °C, 35 °C and 45 °C). The final results confirmed that the equilibrium data tend to follow Freundlich isotherm model. The maximum adsorption capacity of Amberlite IRA-402 for uranium(VI) was evaluated to be 213 mg/g for the Langmuir model at 25 °C. The adsorption of uranium on the mentioned anion exchange resin was found to follow the pseudo-second order kinetic model, indicating that chemical adsorption was the rate limiting-step. The values of thermodynamic parameters proved that adsorption process of uranium onto Amberlite IRA-402 resin could be considered endothermic (ΔH > 0) and spontaneous (ΔG < 0).