Elsevier

Carbohydrate Polymers

Volume 84, Issue 1, 11 February 2011, Pages 54-63
Carbohydrate Polymers

Review
Potential of chitin/chitosan-bearing materials for uranium recovery: An interdisciplinary review

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2010.12.025Get rights and content

Abstract

Isolated mollusk shells and crustacean exoskeletons adsorb from waters almost twice their weight of Pb in a few minutes. Likewise, the chitin-based sorbents of animal and fungal origin adsorb U and transuranium elements: some are manufactured commercially in a form suitable for high flow-rates. Supported viable Trichoderma harzianum is quite effective in collecting microcrystals of U oxides. Chitosan as well can induce deposition of mixed U oxides, to the point that the final material contains a prevailing inorganic component. Metal-reducing bacteria also offer good performances. These data are exploitable for preventing pollution in civilian operations: the pollution case of Colonie, NY, is discussed in the light of the high toxicity of uranium. The disappointing results of the programs aimed at the collection of uranium from seawater with the aid of synthetic poly(amidoamine) induce to envisage that chitin/chitosan-bearing materials might be involved in the future exploitation of the marine uranium resources.

Introduction

Certain metal ions for which no biological function has been found, such as cadmium and lead, are known carcinogens; mercury targets the central nervous system causing mental and motor dysfunctions, as demonstrated by the Minamata Bay disease generated by the presence of mercury in the food chain. Still others, essential to human nutrition at low doses, have adverse effects at higher doses: these include Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn (Ciardelli et al., 1996, Guy et al., 1999, Lynam et al., 1981). On the other hand, uranium is in demand for nuclear power production (Kaikan & Kaikan, 1983). The subject of metal complexation by chitosan has been reviewed by Muzzarelli, 1973, Muzzarelli, 1977 and Varma, Deshpande, and Kennedy (2004), biosorption has been addressed by Li, Hein, and Wang (2008); the development of chelating resins has been examined by Elwakeel (2010); sorption of heavy metals by inorganic and organic low-cost materials has been reviewed by Bailey (1999) and Zhou and Haynes (2010), and the applications to wastewaters have been reviewed by Bhatnagar and Sillanpaa (2009) and No, Prinyawiwatkul, and Meyers (2005). General review articles are available (Guibal, 2004, Wu et al., 2010).

Countless living systems utilize chitin together with non-collagen-like proteins; chitin is usually formed as an amorphous extracellular secretion that becomes conspicuously crystalline at different hierarchical levels (nanofibrils  microfibers  fibers): the latter are the sites for eventually heavy deposits of either amorphous or crystalline inorganic compounds, thus chitin is considered an universal template in biomineralization (Ehrlich, 2010, Poulicek et al., 1986).

The present review is devoted to uranium that unfortunately contaminates certain locations as a consequence of misuse and careless handling, while pollution could have been prevented by adopting reasonable provisions according to natural models. The scope of this review is to direct attention to emerging novel views that might involve polysaccharides in future projects related to pollution prevention or marine uranium collection, and to find out models in the natural environment that might be mimicked when planning on field recovery of metals.

Section snippets

Uranium pollution prevention in civilian operations: the missed opportunity

Uranium eventually reaches the top of the food chain causing severe damage to liver and kidneys, and even death (Kurttio et al., 2006). The World Health Organization has determined that hexavalent uranium is a carcinogen, and its concentration in water should not exceed 50 mg/l. The USA Environmental Protection Agency has recommended a drinking water standard of 20 mg/l for 238U. In fact, uranium intake generates biochemical and genetic damages to the mammalian organisms. Experiments on animal

Interactions of chitosans with metal ions

A prevailing portion of the research data on the interactions between chitin/chitosan and metal ions refer to laboratory conditions involving purified chitin/chitosan, pure salts, demineralized water or filtered seawater. Under these conditions early research has demonstrated the indifference of alkali and alkali-earth metal ions to chitosan, and concomitant chelation of a number of transition metal ions according to the complex stability series of Irving and Williams (1953), with retention of

Ecologically acceptable removal of U, Pb and other heavy metals

Effective treatments of industrial waste streams and toxic spills containing heavy metals depend on the rapid removal of metal ions. Tudor, Gryte, and Harris (2006) described a method using minimally processed mollusk shells and crustacean exoskeletons. Compared to calcium carbonate of geologic origin, biomineralized shell materials exhibit extremely rapid sequestration of metal ions: the 1 g/l Pb concentration was reduced to less than 0.5 mg/l in 5 min by using comminuted shell of clam Mercenaria

Bioaccumulation, biosorption, reduction and nucleation

The immobilization of bacterial or fungal biomass in biopolymer beads has clearly improved uranium yield as well as stability of biosorbent. Biosorption is the property of spent biomasses to bind and concentrate heavy metals and radionuclides from very dilute aqueous solutions. Among microbial and non-microbial biomaterials reported to possess metal binding properties, a few have been commercialized: Algasorb® manufactured from algae, AMT-Bioclaim® developed by Advanced Mineral Technologies,

Cross-linked chitosans of practical interest

Cross-linked chitosans carrying catechol, iminodiacetic acid, iminodimetylphosphonic acid, phenylarsonic acid or serine functions were prepared for the collection of uranium(VI). The adsorption behavior of uranyl and other ionic species, such as metal ions and oxo-acid ions, on the cross-linked chitosan and chitosans modified with said chelating moieties was examined by column chromatography (sample, 10 ml; element concentration, 10 ng/ml; column volume, 1 ml; eluent, 1 M nitric acid). The

The collection of U from seawater: a future opportunity?

The huge amount of uranium dissolved in the seawater is 4.5 billion tons, and therefore there is interest in uranium extraction (Davies et al., 1964, Kaikan and Kaikan, 1983, Ogata, 1980). The first experimental plant for collection of uranium from seawater was operated by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, and the Metal Mining Agency of Japan from 1981 to 1988. Hydrous titanium oxide was used as an adsorbent, notwithstanding its low

Conclusion

The above cited Colonie pollution case has been pointed out as a reasonable analogue of battlefield contamination by depleted uranium (Lloyd et al., 2009). Uranium isotope ratios have revealed the extent and spatial distribution of contamination by depleted uranium (Vukanac, Novkovic, Kandic, Djurasevic, & Milosevic, in press). Of course it is very hard to plan the decontamination of such a heavily inhabited area, but the story tells that the prevention of the contamination by the use of

Acknowledgments

The author is grateful to Marilena Falcone, Central Library, University, Ancona, Italy, for assistance in handling the bibliographic information, and to Maria Weckx for the preparation of the manuscript.

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