Adsorption of hexavalent uranium on biomass by-product

Abstract

The effectiveness of the uranium removal by olive cake from aqueous solutions has been demonstrated in batch type experiments under normal atmospheric conditions. The adsorption capacity has been evaluated by using both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The optimum pH regarding for uranium adsorption on olive cake is 7.5. The amount of adsorbed uranium is governed by the amount of active sites on the biomass surface indicating an inner sphere complexation. The adsorption of uranium on olive cake is an endothermic and entropy-driven process and does not depend on the ionic strength of the solution.