A review of nanosorbent types and their comparison for removal of uranium from aqueous media

Heavy metals such as uranium are among the most common pollutants in industrial effluents and water environments. Uranium is one of the most dangerous heavy metals in the environment due to its chemical toxicity and radioactivity. Removing toxic and radioactive pollutants from the environment for safe and efficient disposal of waste is a vital challenge that requires the development of selective and high-capacity separation materials. Since uranium contamination threatens surface and underground water, it is important to make more efforts for new materials and technologies to separate and remove uranium from aqueous solutions. The rapidly expanding field of nanotechnology is producing many exciting new materials with novel properties. Apart from all other applications, nanomaterials are expected to act as a new class of solid phase adsorbents for the separation of pollutants and heavy metals, including uranium, due to their unique surface and morphological characteristics. The present review has reported a summary of the types of nanosorbents for the purpose of separating and removing uranium ions. Adsorbent materials include magnetic nanoparticle, Fe3O4, hybrid nanomaterials, oxide and phosphate-based nanomaterials, and non-magnetic nanoparticles. According to reports, magnetic nanoparticles are used to remove elements such as: cadmium, cobalt, nickel, uranium, etc. This article has studied and reviewed various types of nanosorbents as very efficient structures for separating and removing uranium.