Synthesis of bio-waste derived hydroxyapatite nanoparticles for the remediation of uranium-containing wastewater

With the rapid development of nuclear energy, the contamination of water environments by uranium (U(VI)) poses a significant risk to human life and health. To efficiently treat U(VI)-containing wastewater, hydroxyapatite sorbents derived from animal bones were prepared by freeze-drying and calcination in this work. The results indicated that hydroxyapatite adsorbent derived from chicken bone (HAP-J) with abundant functional groups exhibited higher U(VI) removal rate (97.9 %) and U(VI) extraction capacity (1760.8 mg/g) (C-0 = 100 mg/g, pH = 5.0, t = 40 min and T = 298 K). In comparison to the hydroxyapatite adsorbents derived bovine bone (HAP-N) and fish bone (HAP-Y), HAP-J showed significant improvements in both removal efficiency and equilibrium time for U(VI). The desorption efficiency of uranium(VI) by HAP-J was even >85 % after five cycles. Furthermore, HAP-J demonstrated good resistance to ion interference stability. A series of characterization analyses revealed that the loading of uranium onto HAP-J was primarily through effective complexation of multifunctional groups and supplemented by processes such as electrostatic adsorption, ion exchange and precipitation. Overall, HAP-J could be used as a promising adsorbent for the recovery of uranium from aqueous waste.