URANIUM ADSORPTION CHARACTERISTICS OF A CIRCULATING FLUIDIZED-BED ADSORBER

A new type of fluidized bed, called a circulating fluidized-bed adsorber (CFBA), was developed for processing a large quantity of water with high efficiency. Its fluid mechanical characteristics are reported, as well as recovery of uranium from natural seawater using a small CFBA. Using hydrous titanium oxide, granulated with polyacrylonitrile (PAN-HTO), as an adsorbent, CFBA ran stably for six days, the period required for the adsorbent to collect a practical amount of uranium. To predict the uranium adsorption performance of a plant-size CFBA, a numerical model simulating the adsorption kinetics was developed. The result of the numerical calculation by the model was in good agreement with the experimental data.