Effective and selective extraction of uranium from seawater by diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana

Uranium extraction from seawater is urgently required for the sustainable development of nuclear industry. Herein, the application potential of Thalassiosira pseudonana adsorbing U(VI) was examined. A 0.3 g L −1 adsorbent dose at an initial uranium concentration of 8 ppm, pH 5.0, and a contact time of 8 h achieved maximum U(VI) adsorption (23.75 mg g −1 ) at 298 K. The adsorption process was a chemisorption phenomenon, characterized by homogeneous monolayer adsorption. The adsorbents exhibited high hydrophilicity, with –OH and –COOH being the main functional groups for uranium adsorption. T. pseudonana had excellent regeneration performance and high sorption selectivity. The research denoted T. pseudonana is an effective and promising sorbent for extracting uranium from seawater.