Amidic succinic acid moiety anchored silica gel for the extraction of UO₂ ²⁺ from aqueous medium and simulated sea water

A solid phase adsorbent containing amidic carboxylic acid functional group on the surface of the silica gel was prepared by organo-surface modification reactions and characterized the product, Si-SUC, by FT-IR, Raman, thermogravimetry, X-ray diffraction, SEM-EDX and pH titration techniques. The extraction behaviour of U(VI) from aqueous solution was studied as a function of various parameters such as the aqueous phase pH, duration of equilibration, presence of interfering ions and concentration of U(VI) in aqueous phase to evaluate the feasibility using Si-SUC for the recovery of U(VI) from sea water. The kinetic data on the extraction of U(VI) was fitted into second order rate equation, and the U(VI) extraction isotherm was fitted using Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin- Radushkevich and Temkin adsorption models. The performance of Si-SUC was evaluated under dynamic conditions by following a break-through behaviour of U(VI) in the column study. The effect of flow-rate and concentration of U(VI) in the feed solution, on the break-through behaviour of U(VI) was studied and fitted the breakthrough curve using Thomas model.