Amidoxime Modified Polyacrylonitrile Membrane Fo Simultaneous Seawater Desalination and Uranium Extraction: Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Experiments

Abstract

The combination of reverse osmosis (RO) desalination and uranium extraction from seawater is an attractive research direction. Herein performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulation with experiments to investigate the simultaneous application of PAO-PAN membrane for seawater desalination and uranium extraction. The water flux, salt retention and uranyl ion adsorption properties of PAO-PAN membrane were investigated. The results showed that the PAO-PAN membrane had better salt and water flux at different temperatures. Van der Waals forces play an important role in the adsorption of uranyl ions by PAO-PAN membrane. Under alkaline conditions, static electricity can promote the PAO-PAN membrane to trap uranyl ions to form stable four-dentate coordination structures, and the electrostatic action is transformed from repulsion to attraction. In conclusion, this paper reveals the adsorption process of uranyl ions by PAO-PAN membranes in seawater desalination at the molecular level, and provides corresponding theoretical guidance for the application of PAO-PAN membranes in uranium extraction from seawater..

Keywords: Uranium extraction, Polyacrylonitrile, Membrane, Amidoxime, Desalination