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Scientific Basis for Efficient Extraction of Uranium from Seawater. I: Understanding the Chemical Speciation of Uranium under Seawater Conditions
In recent years, the prospective
recovery of uranium from seawater
has become a topic of interest owing to the increasing demand for
nuclear fuel worldwide and because of efforts to find sustainable
alternatives to terrestrial mining for uranium. To date, the most
advanced and promising method of extracting and concentrating uranium
from seawater involves the use of polymeric sorbents containing the
amidoxime binding moiety. Among a number of different moieties investigated,
glutaroimide-dioxime is the most promising one, forming very stable
complexes with UÂ(VI) even in the presence of carbonate. To properly
assess the affinity of uranium toward the amidoxime substrates, a
comprehensive knowledge of the aqueous chemical equilibria of uranium
is required. With this aim, in this paper we review the chemical equilibria
of uranium (as UO<sub>2</sub><sup>2+</sup>) in seawater, focusing
on the solution equilibria leading to the formation of the stable
complexes, M<sub><i>m</i></sub>(UO<sub>2</sub>)Â(CO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub><sup>(2<i>m</i>–4)</sup>(aq) (M = Ca
or Mg, <i>m</i> = 0–2). These binary and ternary
species dominate the chemistry of uranium in seawater and have recently
been the object of study in several papers in the literature. The
solubility equilibria of UO<sub>2</sub><sup>2+</sup> in seawater leading
to the formation of the known minerals, including Liebigite, Ca<sub>2</sub>(UO<sub>2</sub>)Â(CO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub>·10H<sub>2</sub>OÂ(cr), Swartzite, CaMgÂ(UO<sub>2</sub>)Â(CO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub>·12H<sub>2</sub>OÂ(cr), Bayleyite Mg<sub>2</sub>(UO<sub>2</sub>)Â(CO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub>·18H<sub>2</sub>OÂ(cr), and
Andersonite, Na<sub>2</sub>CaÂ(UO<sub>2</sub>)Â(CO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub>·6H<sub>2</sub>OÂ(cr), are also critically reviewed. Newly
calculated values of the solubility products (log <i>K</i><sup>0</sup><sub><i>s</i></sub>) for these solid compounds
are presented based on the currently proposed speciation model that
includes the most recent aforementioned data for the aqueous speciation
of UO<sub>2</sub><sup>2+</sup>. Based on these data, simulated speciation
diagrams are calculated, both at zero ionic strength and in seawater-like
media. In combination with the speciation data for uranium with glutaroimide-dioxime,
these models provide a better, more comprehensive picture of the chemical
equilibria of UÂ(VI) in seawater while also providing useful tools
to help assess the feasibility of its recovery through amidoxime-based
collection systems