Selective recovery of uranium(VI) from aqueous acid solutions using micellar ultrafiltration

Abstract

Preconcentration and removal of uranyl ions from aqueous solutions were achieved by using micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration with complexing micellar aggregates composed of Triton X-100 and different hydrophobic ligands. Derivatives of 4-aminosalicylic acid (PAS) and of 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) having tuned alkyl chains were used as suitable chelating agents. The selective recovery of uranyl from acid samples containing also Sr^II and Cd^II is possible using the multi-step ultrafiltration approach with the PAN derivatives, whereas effective uranyl retention can be obtained with salicylates only in neutral to basic media.