URANIUM IONS REMOVAL FROM AQUEOUS MEDIA USING GRAPHENE OXIDE DERIVED FROM BLACK CARBON

Abstract

Graphene oxide (GO) was prepared from black carbon by the Hummers method. The prepared
GO was characterized by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive spectroscopy
(EDX), Brunner-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analyzer, and Fourier transform infrared
spectroscopy (FTIR). Go was used for U(VI) adsorption of Uranium ions from the acid solution.
The effects of environmental settings on U(VI) adsorption were studied, including pH, contact
time, adsorbent dose, initial concentration of U (VI), and temperature. The experimental results
showed that the best uptake of uranium ions on Go adsorbent is 68.0 mg/g at pH 4, and150 mg/L
initial U(VI) concentration for 50 min contact time at room temperature. The kinetic data fitted
well with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Langmuir's adsorption model described the
adsorption isotherm while the adsorption process was non-spontaneous, randomness, and
exothermic. Also, the graphene oxide adsorbent was truly regenerated by 0.8M H2SO4 and 1:50
S:L ratio for 60 min contact time. Seven cycles of adsorption-desorption experiments were
conducted to study the practical applicability and recurrent use of graphene oxide as an
adsorbent