Uranium is a naturally occurring trace element and radionuclide. Uranium is introduced in the environment during industrial activities and nuclear energy accidents involving nuclear power plants, nuclear weapons tests, ore mining, and manufacturing, which may lead to the contamination of groundwater and soil. Hydroxyapatite (HAP) is a natural mineral with a high affinity for uranium in water. Groundwater often contains high carbonate concentrations that may affect uranium removal due to the formation of uranyl carbonate complexes. In order to understand the process of uranium removal, uranium adsorptions on three nano-HAPs were conducted under various biogeochemical conditions. Results showed that the fastest U adsorption occurred onto nano-HAP and U adsorption was strongly affected by biogeochemical conditions such as pH and the presence of carbonates, but less affected by temperature. The current study indicates that the presence of carbonates at pH’s above the neutral range in groundwater may inhibit U removal with nanohydroxyapatites.

铀是一种天然存在的微量元素和放射性核素。在涉及核电站、核武器试验、矿石开采和制造的工业活动和核能事故中，铀被引入环境中，这可能导致地下水和土壤受到污染。羟基磷灰石 (HAP) 是一种天然矿物，对水中的铀具有高亲和力。地下水通常含有高浓度的碳酸盐，由于形成碳酸铀酰络合物，可能会影响铀的去除。为了了解铀的去除过程，在各种生物地球化学条件下进行了三种纳米 HAP 上的铀吸附。结果表明，U 吸附最快发生在纳米 HAP 上，U 吸附受生物地球化学条件（如 pH 值和碳酸盐的存在）的影响很大，但受温度的影响较小。目前的研究表明，地下水中 pH 值高于中性范围的碳酸盐的存在可能会抑制纳米羟基磷灰石对 U 的去除。