Abstract
The recovery of uranium from seawater is performed with synthesized amidoxime fibers. The adsorption rate of the fiber dispersed in seawater is correlated with fiber size, swelling ratio, liquid phase-side mass transfer and adsorption time. Next, balls formed with the fiber are randomly packed in a cage used as an adsorption unit. The cage is held in an ocean current, and seawater percolates through the packed bed and then permeates each ball. The adsorption yield of uranium at the outlet of the bed is calculated as a function of adsorption time. After the configurations and operational conditions of the adsorption unit are examined, the overall adsorption efficiency becomes higher than 0.5. Factors affecting the cost of recovery are evaluated, and the recovery cost is estimated with no assumption of adsorption efficiency.
