Uranium sorption from aqueous solutions by activated biochar fibres investigated by FTIR spectroscopy and batch experiments

The efficiency of activated biochar fibres obtained from Opuntia ficus indica regarding the sorption of hexavalent uranium (U(VI)) from aqueous solutions has been investigated by batch experiments, as a function of various physicochemical parameters, and FTIR spectroscopy prior and after U(VI) sorption. The experimental results show that the activated biochar fibres possess extraordinary sorption capacity for U(VI) even in acidic solutions (qmax = 210 g kg−1), which is attributed to the formation of inner-sphere complexes with the surface carboxylic moieties, available in high density on the lamellar structures of the bio-sorbent. The adsorption process is described by a two-step exothermic reaction.