Biosorption of uranium (VI) and thorium (IV) onto Ulva gigantea (Kützing) bliding: discussion of adsorption isotherms, kinetics and thermodynamic

Abstract

Ulva gigantea (Kutzing) bliding (UGB) obtained from sea inlet of Izmir-Turkey has been studied as a biosorbent for removal of radioactive metals from water. In this study, unmodified UGB and modified UGB with glutaraldehyde (GUGB) characterized by FTIR spectroscopy were used as biosorbents for removal of U(VI) and Th(IV) ions from aqueous solution. Adsorption experiments performed under batch process with initial pH, contact time, adsorbent mass and temperature as variables. In order to determine the adsorption characteristics, Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Raduschkevich adsorption isotherms were applied to the adsorption data. Adsorption experiments showed that the adsorption isotherms correlated well with the Freundlich model. The sorption followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. The thermodynamic parameters such as variations of ΔH°, ΔG° and ΔS° were estimated as a function of temperature. The thermodynamics of the adsorption of U(VI) and Th(IV) onto UGB and GUGB indicates that the spontaneous and exothermic nature of the process. The results showed that UGB and GUGB were potential for application in removal of U(VI) and Th(IV) from aqueous solution.