As the economical recovery of uranium from Seawater by adsorbents requires a tremendousvolume of seawater, it is necessary to evaluate the fouling of the absorbents caused by particulates and dissolved organic compounds. In this study, seawater flowed through the bed charged with a bundle of the amidoxime hollow fibers. The effect of prefiltration of seawater on uranium adsorption characteristics was clarified by varying the pore size of the pleated cartridge prefilter. The amount of particulates which adhered to the amidoxime hollow fiber was determined. The main component of fouling was iron-containing flocculates which shared 60W/O.
Seawater prefiltered by a filter having a nominal pore size of 3μm increased the higher adsorption rate of uranium by 20%, compared to unfiltered seawater. Eighteen-day contact of unfiltered seawater with the amidoxime hollow fibers resulted in fouling of the fibers and an increase in the pressure loss. In addition, elution with hydrochloric acid could not dissolve the iron-containing flocculates completely. This was disadvantageous in the repeated use of the adsorbents.