Anti-biofouling multi-modified chitosan/polyvinylalcohol air-blown nanofibers for selective radionuclide capture in wastewater

Significant amounts of radioactive wastewater including uranium are discharged into the environment as a result of the expansion of large-scale nuclear power. Due to uranium's toxicity and bioaccumulation, it is crucial to develop efficient and long-lasting adsorbents with functional groups for improving the selective removal of U(VI). By successfully introducing amidoxime and phosphate groups into quaternary ammonium chitosan (QCS-AO/P, i.e., QAP), an antimicrobial composite nanofiber adsorbent (PQAP) composed of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and the as-prepared QAP was synthesized via the solution blow spinning technology (SBS) technique for the highly efficient recovery of uranium from wastewater. The influence of initial pH, contact time, and sorbent composition on the uranyl ion absorption and the antibacterial assay was studied. The PQAP composite fiber mat had the highest adsorption capacity of uranyl ions at pH 8 (559.26 mg/g), and showed excellent antibacterial activities. After six adsorption–desorption cycles, PQAP still retained a high uranium adsorption capacity of 420 mg/g and elimination efficiency (84%). The novel integrated sorption and antibacterial strategy provides new insights for highly efficient treatment of radioactive wastewater.