Development of Methodology for Separation and Recovery of Uranium from Nuclear Wastewater

Uranium plays a key role in nuclear power supply, demand of which is growing up with time because of its prospective features. Persistent increase in different nuclear activities leads to increase generation of nuclear wastewater containing uranium. Separation and recovery of the uranium from its unconventional source like nuclear wastewater is worth to explore for addressing the reutilisation of the uranium source. It is also necessary to improve remediation technology of nuclear industries for environmental protection. Development of a suitable process methodology is essential for the purpose to supersede the conventional methodology. In the article, recent developments in several possible methodologies for separation of uranium from dilute solution have been discussed with their merits and demerits. Sorption technique as solid phase extraction methodology has been chosen with suitable polymer matrix and functional moiety based on wastewater characteristics. Polyhydroxamic Acid, PHOA sorbent synthesized following eco-friendly procedure is a promising polymeric chelating sorbents for remediation of nuclear wastewaters and recovery of uranium. Sorption and elution characteristics of the PHOA have been evaluated and illustrated for separation and recovery of uranium from a sample nuclear wastewater. For the remediation of nuclear wastewater SPE technique applying the PHOA, a polymeric sorbent is found to be a potentially suitable methodology.