Efficient removal of uranium by hydroxyapatite modified kaolin aerogel

•Hydroxyapatite@kaolin aerogel (HKLA) was first prepared via a combination of coprecipitation and freeze-drying-calcination method.•The introduction of HAP could bring more groups with high affinity to uranium, which was beneficial for improving the uranium removal capability of KL.•The removal rate of uranium on HKLA (93.4%) was much higher than that of KL.•HKLA showed good recoverability and dynamic adsorption characteristics.