Recovery of Th(IV) from aqueous solution by reassembled collagen-tannin fiber adsorbent

A novel adsorbent, collagen immobilized tannin adsorbent (CITA), was prepared and its adsorption behaviors to Th(IV) were investigated. CITA was in fibrous state due to the reassembly of collagen molecules by the inducement of tannin. This adsorbent loaded a greater amount of tannin and exhibited higher adsorption capacity to Th(IV) than the tannin immobilized adsorbent prepared from collagen fiber. The adsorption of CITA to Th(IV) is mainly attributed to surface complexation, which is a pH- rather than an ionic strength-dependent process. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms were described by pseudo-second-order rate model and Freundlich equation, respectively. Column adsorption studies indicated that CITA is available for effectively recovering Th(IV) from aqueous solution.