Researchers have made a significant breakthrough in the extraction of uranium ions from seawater, potentially opening up a sustainable and abundant source of nuclear fuel. In a study published in ACS Central Science, scientists have developed a material that is more effective at attracting hard-to-obtain uranium ions from seawater compared to existing methods.
Nuclear power reactors operate by releasing the energy stored within atoms and converting it into heat and electricity through a process called fission. Uranium is the preferred element for this process due to its unstable and radioactive properties, which make it easy to split.
Presently, uranium is primarily extracted from rocks; however, the reserves of uranium ore deposits are limited. On the contrary, it is estimated by the Nuclear Energy Agency that there are over 4.5 billion tons of uranium dissolved in seawater as uranyl ions, surpassing the amount available on land by over 1,000 times.
Nevertheless, the extraction of these ions has proven to be a challenge, as the materials used to capture them lack sufficient surface area for efficient trapping. Seeking a solution to this problem, Rui Zhao, Guangshan Zhu, and their colleagues aimed to develop an electrode material with a high microstructural density that could be employed in the electrochemical extraction of uranium ions from seawater.
To fabricate their electrodes, the team utilized a flexible cloth made from carbon fibers. They then coated the cloth with two specialized monomers, which were subsequently polymerized. The cloth was further treated with hydroxylamine hydrochloride to incorporate amidoxime groups into the polymers. The natural porous structure of the cloth offered numerous small pockets where the amidoxime could nestle and efficiently capture uranyl ions.
During experiments, the researchers placed the coated cloth as a cathode in either naturally sourced or uranium-spiked seawater, while a graphite anode was added. A cyclic current was then generated between the electrodes. Over time, bright yellow uranium-based precipitates accumulated on the cathode cloth.
In tests conducted with seawater collected from the Bohai Sea, the electrodes successfully extracted 12.6 milligrams of uranium per gram of water over a 24-day period. The capacity of the coated material surpassed that of most other materials tested for uranium extraction. Furthermore, utilizing electrochemistry for ion capture proved to be approximately three times faster than the natural accumulation method on the cloth.
The researchers believe that their findings present an efficient technique for capturing uranium from seawater, effectively transforming the oceans into a new source of nuclear fuel. This development could have significant implications for the future of nuclear power generation, as it provides a sustainable alternative to the finite uranium reserves found on land.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
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