Chapter 16 - Biosorption of Uranium and Thorium by Biopolymers

Abstract

Biosorption can be defined as the removal of substances, such as metal or metalloid species, compounds, and particulates from solution by biological material or their products, especially bacteria, algae, yeast, and fungi by physicochemical binding. Among these biosorbents, biopolymers have been preferred over other materials because of their advantages, including biodegradability, hydrophilicity, and presence of carboxylic groups. The increase in the nuclear industry and other anthropogenic activities has intensified environmental pollution, with the accumulation of radioactive elements as uranium and thorium. Therefore, it is very important to identify potential effective and environmentally safe adsorbents for the removal and recovery of uranium and thorium. This chapter reviews the state of art of biosorption of uranium and thorium by biopolymers and compares the results found in the literature and the biosorption results on uranium and thorium by Ca-alginate biopolymer beads. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.