Precipitation of meta-autunite from Ca(II)-U(VI)-PO43− system with inorganic pH regulator for uranium immobilization
摘要
This study explored U immobilization via meta-autunite precipitation in a Ca(II)-U(VI)-PO43− system using NaOH/HNO3 as inorganic pH regulators. Results demonstrated inorganic regulators achieved comparable U immobilization efficiency (98%) to organic ones under optimal conditions: 4 h reaction, 60–100 mg/L U, 25 °C, pH 6.0, and Ca:U:P = 50:1:10. XRD, SEM, and FT-IR analyses revealed no significant differences in product composition/structure between inorganic and organic regulators. However, inorganic-regulated products exhibited higher crystallinity and lamellar stacked grains. Despite NaOH usage, Na was absent in products due to meta-autunite’s superior stability over Na-autunite, favoring its preferential precipitation and inhibiting Na-autunite formation.