Electrochemical removal and recovery of uranium: Effects of operation conditions, mechanisms, and implications
Journal article, 2022

Removing and recovering uranium (U) from U-mining wastewater would be appealing, which simultaneously reduces the adverse environmental impact of U mining activities and mitigates the depletion of conventional U resources. In this study, we demonstrate the application of a constant-voltage electrochemical (CVE) method for the removal and recovery of U from U-mining wastewater, in an ambient atmosphere. The effects of operation conditions were elucidated in synthetic U-bearing water experiments, and the cell voltage and the ionic strength were found to play important roles in both the U extraction kinetics and the operation cost. The mechanistic studies show that, in synthetic U-bearing water, the CVE U extraction proceeds exclusively via a single-step one-electron reduction mechanism, where pentavalent U is the end product. In real U-mining wastewater, the interference of water matrices led to the disproportionation of the pentavalent U, resulting in the formation of tetravalent and hexavalent U in the extraction products. The U extraction efficacy of the CVE method was evaluated in real U-mining wastewater, and results show that the CVE U extraction method can be efficient with operation costs ranging from $0.55/kgU ~ $64.65/kgU, with varying cell voltages from 1.0 V to 4.0 V, implying its feasibility from the economic perspective.

Uranium mining wastewater

Mechanisms

Reduction

Electrochemical

Uranium extraction

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Published in

Journal of Hazardous Materials

0304-3894 (ISSN) 18733336 (eISSN)

Vol. 432 art. no 128723

Categorizing

Subject Categories (SSIF 2011)

Analytical Chemistry

Other Chemical Engineering

Water Treatment

Identifiers

DOI

10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128723

PubMed

35316632

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Latest update

4/5/2022 8