Recovery of uranium from seawater. X. Pore structure and uranium adsorption of macroreticular chelating resin containing amidoxime groups

Abstract

Eight types of amidoxime–type resin (RNH) were derived from macroreticular acrylonitrile—divinylbenzene copolymer beads, which were synthesized by varying the amount of polymerization initiator. Although these RNH are similar in chemical properties and physical pore structure, they exhibited different adsorption abilities for uranium. The porous structure of RNH in swollen state was analyzed by gel permeation chromatography in aqueous medium. The calibration curves yielded useful information on the pore structure of RNH in the swollen state and it was recognized that the pore structure in the swollen state is important for the improvement of the adsorption rate.