Purification of uranium-containing waters by the ultra- and nanofiltration using modified montmorillonite

Results of the ultra- and nanofiltration investigations dealing with treatment of uranium-containing waters have been presented. This treatment involved the simultaneous use of modified montmorillonite in pressure-driven processes. The main parameters of ultra- and nanofiltration processes (uranium retention coefficient for membranes UPM-20 and OPMN-P, transmembrane fluxes, and the degree of uranium concentration) were calculated. It was shown that the use of modified montmorillonite made it possible to obtain high values of the purification efficiency of polluted waters from uranium. The uranium retention coefficient was as high as 0.95 in the ultrafiltration process and 0.999 in the nanofiltration one.