Abstract
An investigation was made on the method of preparing uranium adsorbent from titanic acid and cordierite by making the latter impregnate and support the former by the urea method. Also, the relations between the amount of uranium adsorbed in the prepared adsorbent and its property values were investigated. To prepare adsorbent having a high adsorption capacity, it was important for the mother liquid to have pH of around 8 and for the cordierite to have a specific surface area larger than about 700m2/g per titanic acid. As the result of the above investigations, such conditions as the concentration of titanium, the amount of urea to be added into the prepared solution, etc. necessary for meeting the above requirements were made clear.
The amount of uranium adsorbed in the adsorbent measured by a simple method for granular adsorbents after two-day impregnation was 40 to 50μg/g when the support had a specific area of 2m2/g and a grain size of 0.35 to 0.42mm. In case the support having a specific surface area of 8m2/g was used, the adsorbent showed the possibility of saturated adsorption up to approximately 600μg/g.
This granular adsorbent was found suitable for use in a fluidizing adsorption equipment. Therefore, a recovery plant of uranium from sea-water by the dispersion and deposition method was shown as an example of its application.
