Adsorption properties of sepiolite in relation to uranium and lanthanide ions

Abstract

The batch technique was used to study the adsorption of La(III), Eu(III), Lu(III), and U(VI) ions on sepiolite and ODTMA–sepiolite under ambient conditions. The effects of pH, time, and initial concentration were investigated. The highest U(VI) adsorption was found on ODTMAsepiolite in the pH range of 6–8, while in the case of lanthanide ions, adsorption on sepiolite was 80% in the pH range of 4–8 and 98% for pH values above 8. The adsorption capacity of ODTMAsepiolite was found to be 285.6 mg/g for uranium, and raw sepiolite: 142.8 mg/g for U(VI), 91.6 mg/g for La(III), 91.4 mg/g for Eu (III), and 104.9 mol/g for Lu(III). ODTMA–sepiolite turned out to be a weak sorbent for lanthanide ions. Two short- and long-lived fluorescence species were observed in the TRLFS spectra of U(VI) adsorbed on sepiolite at pH 6.5. The average lifetimes of short- (τ1) and long-lived (τ2) fluorescence are τ1 = 2420 ± 430 ns and τ2 = 37950 ± 5710 ns for U-sepiolite; τ1 = 3523 ± 160 ns and τ2 = 45400 ± 1830 ns for U-ODTMA–sepiolite.