U(VI) ion adsorption thermodynamics and kinetics from aqueous solution onto raw sodium feldspar and acid-activated sodium feldspar

The raw sodium feldspar (RSF) is activated with the concentrated sulfuric acid solution and the acid activated sodium feldspar (AASF) is obtained. The results obtained from the mercury intrusion method show that the acidification can increase the porosity and the specific surface area. The effects of the initial pH, contact time and ambient temperature on the adsorption of U(VI) ions are investigated in a batch process. The adsorption efficiency amounts to the highest at pH 6 and the adsorption equilibrium is reached in 600 min. The pseudo-second-order model is found to be more suitable for the adsorption process than the pseudo-first-order model and intra-particle model, indicating that the chemical adsorption is the predominant step for the adsorption process. Langmuir model is found to describe the adsorption process better than Freundlich model. This proves that the main form of U(VI) ions attached to RSF and AASF is the monolayer coverage. The thermodynamic parameters prove that the adsorption process is a spontaneous endothermic one. It was also found that acid activated treatment can help increase the adsorption rate and capacity. The results show that RSF and AASF can be used as a novel low cost adsorbent for removal of U(VI) ions from the low concentration aqueous solution.