Quick and efficient extraction of uranium from a contaminated solution by a calixarene nanoemulsion

Abstract

This work aims to evaluate the efficiency of a calixarene emulsion for uranium extraction from a contaminated solution prior to apply such a delivery system to uranium skin decontamination. For this purpose, various experimental parameters that can influence the efficiency of the calixarene emulsion on uranium extraction were determined. The results show that the calixarene nanoemulsion effect can be observed after a very short time of contact with uranium-contaminated solution (5 min) and that it is still efficient in case of small volumes of contaminated solution. The pH of the contaminated solution was found to be the most important parameter affecting the calixarene nanoemulsion efficiency with a dramatic reduction of the uranium extraction rate in case of acidification of the contaminated medium. This lack of efficiency can be overcome by buffering the nanoemulsion continuous phase. The obtained results reveal that the calixarene nanoemulsion could represent a promising system for the emergency treatment of uranium cutaneous contamination.