Sorption of uranium(Ⅵ) from aqueous solutions by DEEA organovolcanic: isotherms,kinetic and thermodynamic studies

The sorption of the uranium(VI) ions from aqueous solutions by diethylethanolammonium organovolcanics(Kula-TURKEY) was investigated under different experimental conditions. DEEA was used to modify the surface of basaltic volcanics. The characteristic of basaltic volcanic was analyzed by XRF, SEM–EDS, FTIR, and XRD. The BET surface areas of unmodified volcanics and DEEA-modified volcanics were found as 2.265 and3.689 m~2/g, respectively. The volcanic samples were treated by using different concentrations of DEEA. The adsorption of U(VI) on natural and modified volcanics was examined as a function of the contact time, initial p H of the solution, initial U(VI) concentration, and temperature.Langmuir, Freundlich, and D–R adsorption isotherms were used to describe the adsorption. While examining the adsorption percentage and distribution coefficient, these values for unmodified volcanics were found to be25% ± 0.76 and 10.08 m L/g, while the values for the DEEA-modified volcanics were 88% ± 1.04 and 220 m L/g, respectively. The pseudo-first-order and pseudo-secondorder kinetic models were used to describe the kinetic data.In this study, it can be seen that the adsorption process is suitable for the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Various thermodynamic parameters(ΔG°, ΔH°, and ΔS°) were calculated with the thermodynamic distribution coefficients obtained at different temperatures. The sorption process was a chemical adsorption process. The results indicated that the processes are spontaneous and endothermic.     

Interaction between uranium and humic acid （Ⅰ）： Adsorption behaviors of U（Ⅵ） in soil humic acids

The adsorption behaviors of uranium on three soil humic acids (HAs), which were extracted from soils of different depths at the same site, were investigated under various experimental conditions. The adsorption results showed that U(Ⅵ) in solutions can be adsorbed by the three soil HAs, with the order of FHA (HA from 5 m depth of soil) >SHA (HA from the surface) >THA (HA from 10 m depth of soil) for adsorption efficiency in each desirable condition, and the adsorption reached equilibrium in about 240 min. Although the maximum adsorption efficiency was achieved at a suitable uranium concentration (10 mg·L-1 U(Ⅵ) for SHA and THA, 20 mg·L-1 U(Ⅵ) for FHA), the adsorption could be described with Langmiur isotherm or Freundlich isotherm equation. The L/S (liquid/solid, mL/g) ratio and pH were important factors influencing the adsorption in our adsorption system besides uranium concentration. The adsorption efficiency decreased with the increase of the L/S ratio and pH at the pH range of 2.0-3.0 for SHA and THA or 2.5-6.0 for FHA. However, no significant difference in adsorption of U(Ⅵ) was observed at the experimental temperature. All the results implied that humic substances have different characteristics in samples even collected at the same site.     

Role of acetic acid on U(Ⅵ) sorption on silica

The influence of acetate on U(Ⅵ) sorption on silica from aqueous solutions was studied at p H 2–7 by complementary experimental methods of macroscopic measurement, spectroscopic investigation and thermodynamic calculation. Sorption percentage of U(Ⅵ) in the absence and in the presence of different acetate concentrations was determined by batch sorption procedures. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy(ATR-FTIR) was used to elucidate the mechanisms of uranyl sorption on silica in the presence of acetate, by investigating, in-situ, the changes in the U(Ⅵ) sorption on silica surface in presence of ligand: the absorption bands of carboxylate ν(COO) in the range 1300–1700 cm-1and those around 850–950 cm-1of uranyl species νas(UO2) are followed. The decrease of U(Ⅵ) sorption with increasing acetate concentration was observed. Sorption of U(Ⅵ)-acetate(U-Ac) species on silica surface was demonstrated for the first time.ATR-FTIR investigations clearly evidenced the absorption bands characteristic of sorbed U-Ac complexes both from the acetate and uranyl spectral regions those the wavenumbers correspond to sorbed species. No sequence effect of acetate and uranyl on the sorption on silica in ternary systems U(Ⅵ)-acetate-silica was observed from the sorption data. From the ATR-FTIR investigations, we can induce that the sorption of U-Ac leads to chemical equilibria and makes possible the modeling of sorption isotherms by surface complexation models. The related thermodynamic constants were modeled using CCM surface complexation modeling.     

Effect of Plasma on the Zeta Potential of Cotton Fabrics

In this work, the effect of a low-temperature plasma on the zeta potential of cotton fabric was studied. The silver particle absorption on cotton fabric when modified by a low-temperature plasma was also investigated. The modification consisted of plasma pre functionalization followed by a one-step wet treatment with silver nitrate solution. The process was performed in a low-temperature plasma medium, using a magnetron sputtering device. Oxygen and nitrogen were used as working gases in the system, and the results were compared. After preparing the samples, the zeta potentials of the untreated and plasma-treated cotton under a constant pH value solution were estimated and compared. Also, Fourier transform infrared spec troscopy (FTIR) was used to examine the functional groups of the corresponding samples. The amounts of silver absorption on plasma treated and untreated cotton were examined using the energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) method. The results show that the amount of zeta potential for the nitrogen plasma treated sample is less and the absorption of silver particles by cotton can be increased strongly with nitrogen plasma treatment.     

Preparation of a new anion exchanger by pre-irradiation grafting technique and its adsorptive removal of rhenium(Ⅶ) as analogue to ~(99)Tc

A new anion exchanger with pyridine groups was prepared by grafting of 2-vinyl pyridine onto polypropylene(PP) nonwoven fabrics by pre-irradiation grafting technique, followed by quaternization of pyridine rings in grafted chains in reaction with bromoethane. The results showed that the grafting yield increased with the monomer concentration and conversion ratio of quaternization increased with the time. The grafted and quaternized fabrics were characterized by FT-IR, DSC, SEM and ICP. The possibility of adsorption of perrhenate(ReO–4), a nonradioactive analogue to pertechnetate(99TcO–4), from aqueous solution by anion exchanger was investigated. The experiments performed at pH= 0.1–6 showed that p H = 2.2 was the optimal acidity for ReO–4adsorption, and an adsorption equilibrium was achieved in 30 min. The reaction enthalpy was-12.55 k J/mol,indicating that the adsorption process is exothermic. XPS tests indicated that the Re O–4uptake was a typical ion exchange between Cl–on anion exchanger and ReO–4.     

Solvent extraction of U(Ⅵ) by N,N-dimethyl-N',N'-dioctylsuccinylamide and N,N-dimethyl-N',N'-didecylsuccinylamide in cyclohexane

The extraction of uranyl nitrate by novel extractants of N,N-dimethyl-N',N'-dioctylsuccinylamide(DMDOSA)and N,N-dimethyl-N',N'-didecylsuccinylamide(DMDDSA) from aqueous nitric/nitrate solutions was investigated.It was found both the concentration of HNO_3 and extractants had an effect on the U(Ⅵ) extraction distribution.The extraction mechanism was established,and stoichiometry of the main extracted species was confirmed to be UO_2(NO_3)_2·2DMDOSA and UO_2(NO_3)_2·2DMDDSA,respectively.Both of the extraction reactions are exothermic.FTIR spectral study of the U(Ⅵ) extracted species was also made.     

Sensitizing Mechanism and Adsorption Properties of Dye—Sensitized TiO2 Thin Films

The dye-sensitized TiO2 complex films were prepared by the dye coat onto TiO2 surfaces,and the sensitizing mechanism and adsorption properties of the dye-sensitized TiO2 complex films were inverstigated.The influence of the application conditions of dye adsorbed on TiO2 films on the amount of dye adsorption was discussed.Experimental results show that the concentration,the temperature of dye solutions and the dipping time of TiO2 films in the dye solutions have a significant influence on the amount of dye adsorption.Cell test indicates that the conversion efficiency of light to electricity increases with the amount of dye adsorption.     

Degradation of phenol using a combination of granular activated carbon adsorption and bipolar pulse dielectric barrier discharge plasma regeneration

A combined method of granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption and bipolar pulse dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma regeneration was employed to degrade phenol in water. After being saturated with phenol, the GAC was filled into the DBD reactor driven by bipolar pulse power for regeneration under various operating parameters. The results showed that different peak voltages, air flow rates, and GAC content can affect phenol decomposition and its major degradation intermediates, such as catechol, hydroquinone, and benzoquinone. The higher voltage and air support were conducive to the removal of phenol, and the proper water moisture of the GAC was 20％. The amount of H2O2 on the GAC was quantitatively determined, and its laws of production were similar to phenol elimination. Under the optimized conditions, the elimination of phenol on the GAC was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,and the total removal of organic carbons achieved 50.4％. Also, a possible degradation mechanism was proposed based on the HPLC analysis. Meanwhile, the regeneration efficiency of the GAC was improved with the discharge treatment time, which attained 88.5％ after 100 min of DBD processing.     

Effect of Low-Pressure Nitrogen DC Plasma Treatment on the Surface Properties of Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene, Poly (Methyl Methacrylate) and Polyvinyl Chloride Films

In this study, commercial biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films were treated with nitrogen plasma over different exposure times in a Pyrex tube surrounded by a DC variable magnetic field. The chemical changes that appeared on the surface of the samples were investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR- FTIR) spectroscopy after treatment for 2 min, 4 min and 6 min in a nitrogen plasma chamber. Effects of the plasma treatment on the surface topographies and contact angles of the untreated and plasma treated films were also analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and a contact angle measuring system. The results show that the plasma treated films become more hydrophilic with an enhanced wettability due to the formation of some new polar groups on the surface of the treated films. Moreover, at higher exposure times, the total surface energy in all treated films increased while a reduction in contact angle occurred. The behavior of surface roughness in each sample was completely different at higher exposure times.     

The Effect of High-Pressure Arc Discharge Plasma on the Degradation of Chlorpyrifos

A study is conducted to determine the effect of a kind of high-pressure arc discharge plasma on the degradation rate and kinetic equations of chlorpyrifos in different solvents with the treated times and concentrations as variables. The degradation rate was sorted in different solvents as water, methanol, acetone and then acetoacetate. The tendencies of the degradation rates with treated time in water and methanol were optimally fitted with first-order kinetics equations while those in acetone and acetoacetate were fitted with zeroth-order kinetics equations. The difference was attributed to the stronger polarity of water and methanol. The weak correlation of the degradation rates with time was mainly because the high-temperature of the arc discharge tube and the chemically-active species generated by the discharge. The degradation half-life was extended with increase of chlorpyrifos concentration. A degradation half-life less than 3 min was achieved for chlorpyrifos in water and methanol when the initial concentration was less than 300 μg/ml.     

Adsorption characteristics of thorium on silica-based anion exchange resins

To isolate and separate thorium from nitric acid solutions, three silica-based anion exchange resins were synthesized. Batch experiments were carried out to investigate adsorption behavior of thorium in nitric acid solutions. Adsorption at different concentrations of nitric acid and thorium, influence of contact time and coexisting metal ions, and effect of NO_3~– were investigated in detail. It was found that at high HNO_3 concentrations,the resins exhibited higher adsorption capacity and better affinity towards thorium. The adsorption kinetics could be described by the pseudo-second order model equation, while the adsorption isotherms were well correlated by the Langmuir model. The maximum capacity towards thorium species on SiPyR-N_4 was evaluated at 27–28 mg/g-resin. The thermodynamic parameters indicated the adsorption was an exothermic reaction. The presence of NO_3~– was found to promote the retention of the thorium species.     

Rice plant growth and yield: foliar application of plasma activated water

Plasma activated water(PAW) was prepared for 10 min to be applied one to five times as a foliar spray to rice plants, to investigate plant growth, yield and the concentrations of total soluble protein and sugar in the rice grains produced. The results reveal that(1) the plant height, stem diameter, dry weight, chlorophyll and total carotene concentrations were improved by ～15%,～25%, ～24%, ～47% and ～45%, respectively, with respect to control,(2) defense mechanisms of the plants treated with PAW were improved,(3) concentrations of total soluble protein and sugar were enhanced in the rice grains of PAW treated plants and(4) yield was increased by ～14%.     

Preparation of amidoxime-based PE/PP fibers for extraction of uranium from aqueous solution

A novel amidoxime-based fibrous adsorbent,denoted as PE/PP-g-(PAAc-co-PAO), was prepared by preirradiation grafting of acrylic acid and acrylonitrile onto polyethylene-coated polypropylene skin-core(PE/PP)fibers using 60 Co γ-ray irradiation, followed by amidoximation. The original and modified PE/PP fibers were characterized by a series of characterization methods to demonstrate the attachment of amidoxime groups onto the PE/PP fibers. Breaking strength tests confirmed that the fibrous adsorbent could maintain good mechanical properties. The adsorption capacity of the PE/PP-g-(PAAc-coPAO) fibers was investigated in simulated seawater with an initial uranium concentration of 330 μg/L. The uranium adsorption capacity was 2.27 mg/g-adsorbent after 24 h in simulated seawater, and the equilibrium data were well described by the Freundlich isotherm model. The PE/PP-g-(PAAc-co-PAO) adsorbent exhibited good regeneration and recyclability during five adsorption-desorption cycles.The adsorption test was also performed in simulated radioactive effluents with uranium concentrations of 10 and100 μg/L. The effect of the pH value on the adsorption capacity was also studied. At a very low initial concentration 10 μg/L solution, the PE/PP-g-(PAAc-co-PAO)fiber could remove as much as 93.0% of the uranium, and up to 71.2% of the uranium in the simulated radioactive effluent. These results indicated that the PE/PP-g-(PAAcco-PAO) adsorbent could be used in radioactive effluents over a wide range of pH values. Therefore, the PE/PP-g-(PAAc-co-PAO) fibers, with their high uranium selectivity,good regeneration and recyclability,good mechanical properties, and low cost, are promising adsorbents for extracting uranium from aqueous solutions.     

Improved Double-Probe Technique for Spatially Resolved Diagnosis of Dual-Frequency Capacitive Plasmas

The conventional double-probe technique was improved with a combination of selfpowering and radio-frequency(RF) choking.RF perturbations in dual-frequency capacitively coupled discharge were effectively eliminated,as judged by the disappearance of self-bias on the probes.The improved technique was tested by spatially resolved measurements of the electron temperature and ion density in both the axial and radial directions of a dual-frequency capacitive plasma.The measured data in the axial direction were compared with simulation results,and they were excellently consistent with each other.The measured radial distributions of the ion density and electron temperature were influenced significantly by the lower frequency(LF) power.It was shown that superposition of the lower frequency to the higher frequency(HF) power shifted the maximum ion density from the radial center to the edge region,while the trend for the electron temperature profile was the opposite.The changing feature of the ion density distribution is qualitatively consistent with that of the optical emission intensity reported.     

Adsorption behaviors of iodide anion on silver loaded macroporous silicas

A macroporous silica-based silver loaded adsorbent was synthesized by grafting the silver complexes of thiourea(Ag(tu)3NO3) into a silica-based copolymer support(Si O2-P). The adsorbent was used to uptake iodide anions(I–) by batch and column techniques. The kinetic and saturated adsorption experiments were carried out by varying the shaking times and initial concentration of I–. Experimental results shown that the kinetic adsorption of I–was controlled by a pseudo second order model and the saturated adsorption of I–was controlled by the chemisorption mechanism, which followed a Langmuir adsorption equation. The breakthrough curve of I–had a S-shaped profile. The column efficiency was estimated to be over 90%.     

Adsorption behavior of Zr（IV） and Hf（IV） on a silica-based macroporous TODGA adsorbent

In order to separate Zr（IV） and Hf（IV） in acidic solution, several kinds of silica-based macroporous adsorbents were synthesized. Their adsorption selectivity for Zr（IV） and Hf（IV） in HCl solution was investigated, and the TODGA adsorbent for the two elements had the largest adsorption difference. The effects of acid type, HCl concentration, and temperature on the adsorption behavior of Zr（IV） and Hf（IV） onto the TODGA adsorbent were conducted by batch experiments. It was found that H＋ exhibited a quite strong influence on adsorption capacity of Zr（IV） and Hf（IV）. Isotherm fitting showed that the Langmuir model agrees well with the experimental data. The thermodynamic parameters indicate that the adsorption processes for both elements are endothermic reactions. The TODGA adsorbent had the higher adsorption selectivity for Zr（IV） over Hf（IV） and could be promising for their mutual separation.     

Adsorption behavior of uranyl ions onto amino-type adsorbents prepared by radiation-induced graft copolymerization

Amino-type adsorbents(ATAs) were prepared by radiation-induced graft copolymerization of 4-hydroxybutyl acry late glycidyl ether(HB) onto a polyethylene-coated polypropylene(PE/PP) duplex fiber of a non-woven fabric,and modified with different amines of ethylenediamine(EDA),diethylenetriamine(DETA),triethylenetetramine(TETA) and diethylamine(DEA).The adsorption behavior of uranyl ions onto the ATAs was studied in batch experiments.The effects of the contact time,initial concentration of the ions,temperature,and pH value.The salinity were investigated along with the adsorption kinetics and the adsorption isotherms.The kinetic experimental data followed the pseudo second-order kinetic model,and the adsorption isotherms correlated well with the Langmuir model.The ATAs showed good efficiency in adsorbing uranyl ions,with the best saturation adsorption capacity being 64.26 mg g~(-1) for ATA-DETA within 120 min.The temperature dependence of ATADETA was quite abnormal and the quickest behavior was obtained at 25 ℃.ATAs showed good adsorption capacity over a wide pH range of 4.0-8.5,and HCl could be used in the elution process.Salinity of the solution had great effect on the adsorption capacity,3.5%salinity resulted in a 55%loss of capacity from ATA-DETA.The selectivity of ATA-DETA showed an order of:UO_2~(2+)≈Fe~(3+) Zn~(2+) VO_3~- Co~(2+) Ni~(2+).     

Plasma-induced grafting of acrylic acid on bentonite for the removal of U(VI) from aqueous solution

Fabrication of reusable adsorbents with satisfactory adsorption capacity and using environmentfriendly preparation processes is required for the environment-related applications. In this study,acrylic acid(AA) was grafted onto bentonite(BT) to generate an AA-graft-BT(AA-g-BT)composite using a plasma-induced grafting technique considered to be an environment-friendly method. The as-prepared composite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, x-ray powder diffraction, thermal gravity analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Barrett–Emmett–Teller analysis, demonstrating the successful grafting of AA onto BT. In addition, the removal of uranium(VI)(U(VI)) from contaminated aqueous solutions was examined using the as-prepared composite. The influencing factors, including contact time,p H value, ionic strength, temperature, and initial concentration, for the removal of U(VI) were investigated by batch experiments. The experimental process fitted best with the pseudo-secondorder kinetic and the Langmuir models. Moreover, thermodynamic investigation revealed a spontaneous and endothermic process. Compared with previous adsorbents, AA-g-BT has potential practical applications in treating U(VI)-contaminated solutions.     

Effect of ~(103)Pd on proliferation and apoptosis of vascular smoothmuscle cells

This study aimed at the effect of γ-emitting radionuclide l03Pd on the proliferation and apoptosis of vascular SMCs (smooth muscle cells) in vitro. The cavy aortic SMCs were cultured with culture medium M-199. The experiments were carried out in two groups, one for proliferation test and the other for apoptosis test. In each group, 103Pd solutions with various radioactivities were respectively added to the culture solution to irradiate SMCs for 72 h, while non-radioactive palladium solution was added to the control. H-thymidine incorporation test and liquid scin-tillator were used to detect the effect of 103Pd on the proliferation of SMCs. Flow cytometer was used to detect the apoptotic SMCs. The inhibition rate of SMCs proliferation by 1.85 MBq 103Pd solution was 2.3%, which was not significant, while the inhibition rate increased from 41.6% to 91.3% as the 103Pd activity increased from 7.40 MBq to 37 MBq. The apoptosis rate of SMCs was extremely low (less than 4.0%) by 103Pd with activity from 1.85 M     

Determination of boron concentration in uranium fuel samples by ICP-OES following a separation step by cation exchange resin

The boron content of uranium fuel samples with boron concentrations in the range of 0.05–10 μg/g was determined using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry(ICP-OES) after the uranium was separated by cation exchange. The samples were dissolved in 3 M HNO_3 on a hot plate at 150℃ and evaporated to near dryness. The residues were redissolved in 0.2 M HNO-_3 and passed through a column loaded with Dowex 50WX8-400 resin. Uranium was adsorbed on the resin,while boron was easily eluted with 0.2 M HNO_3. The boron content of the effluent was determined using ICPOES. Several strategies were employed to improve the reliability of the experimentally determined boron content.The addition of mannitol and proper control of the evaporation process were shown to be effective in preventing boron loss during sample dissolution and evaporation. The memory effect was eliminated by flushing the system with 1.5% ammonia for 30 s between successive sample runs,and the matrix match method was used to eliminate the matrix effect arising from mannitol during the ICP-OES analysis. The accuracy of the results of the analysis was determined by addition recovery tests and by comparison with the results of three Chinese certified reference materials(GBW04242, GBW04243, and GBW04232). Using the method we developed, the limit of detection for boron was as low as 0.05 μg/g in uranium fuel samples, and the relative standard deviations for 0.1–0.5 g uranium samples with 0.05–2 μg/g of boron were within 9%.