Adsorption of Uranium by Vegetable Crude Drugs

Abstract

The uranium-adsorbing abilities of 60 species of commercially available crude drugs were investigated. The abilities to adsorb uranium from non-saline water differ with different species of crude drugs. High uranium-adsorbing abilities were observed in Corni fructus, Geranii herba and Chaenomelis fructus. With the aim of improving handling and adsorbing characteristics, several crude drugs were immobilized with formaldehyde. Most of immobilized crude drugs tested adsorbed large amounts of uranium from non-saline water. The selective adsorption of heavy metal ions (Cd²⁺, Co²⁺, Cu²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺, and UO²₂⁺), differs extremely with different species of crude drugs. Most of the crude drugs adsorbed uranyl and copper ions far more readily than other metal ions. Thus, crude drugs of plant origin, such as Corni fmctus, Geranii herba, and Chaenomelis fructus, could be used for the recovery and removal of uranium from seawater, and waste and mine water containing uranium.