128 America) due to import and regulatory costs. Primary forms in the market Powder, flakes, solutions. Leaf powder, made in powder or capsules, seeds, oil, or fresh leaves. 5. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, this study establishes (MOS) as a superior and sustainable alternative to unmodified Chitosan for removing naturally occurring radionuclides, particularly uranium, from water sources. The experimental results demonstrated that MOS significantly outperformed raw Chitosan, achieving removal efficiencies of up to ~86% compared with Chitosan's maximum of ~35%, while avoiding the viscosity and filtration issues associated with Chitosan. These findings validate the potential of MOS as a "green adsorbent" that aligns with circular-economy principles by utilizing an abundant, low-cost agricultural resource to address complex environmental challenges. Consequently, MOS presents a promising, eco-friendly solution for water remediation that minimizes the economic and technical barriers often associated with conventional synthetic adsorbents. This study contributes to global initiatives regarding environmental protection and technological advancement by fostering the development of efficient, sustainable remediation strategies. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work was financially supported by: UID/04028 of the CERENA—Research Center for Natural Resources and Environment—CERENA—funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P./MCTES through the national funds. The work is developed under the FCT scholarship UI/BD/152300/2021 of the Research Centre for Natural Resources and Environment—CERENA and under the funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe framework programme under the grant agreement no. 101138460. REFERENCES Xu, C., Wang, J., Yang, T., Chen, X., Liu, X., & Ding, X. (2015). Adsorption of uranium by amidoximated chitosan-grafted polyacrylonitrile, using response surface methodology. Carbohydrate Polymers, 121, 79–85.
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