New technique could extract endless nuclear power from seawater
Scientists have discovered a new technique that can capture uranium from seawater, helping make nuclear power accessible to countries that lack uranium mines.
The ocean has already been known to be a good source of uranium, however efforts to extract the critical ingredient for nuclear fission have produced insufficient quantities. Now researchers at Stanford University say they have developed a new technique that can capture up to three times more, enough to make seawater-based uranium economically viable.
“We need nuclear power as a bridge toward a post-fossil fuel future,” said Professor Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and co-author of a paper in Nature Energy on the new technique. “Seawater extraction gives countries that don’t have land-based uranium the security that comes from knowing they’ll have the raw material to meet their energy needs.”
The Stanford findings build on years of work in Japan and China, as well as by scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Scientists have previously attempted to extract uranyl ions from seawater by dipping plastic fibers containing amidoxime. The uranyl ions stick to the amidoxime, which is then extracted and then refined for use in nuclear reactors.
How much uranium and how practical this approach is depends on three variables: how much uranyl sticks to the plastic, how quickly the ions can be captured, and how many times the plastic can be reused. The Stanford research improves upon all three variables by creating a conductive hybrid fiber which incorporates carbon and amidoxime. By sending electricity down the fiber, the altered properties allow more ions to be captured.
As the world searches for cleaner sources of energy to replace fossil fuels, finding ways to make nuclear power cheaper and safer to produce has become of critical importance. While wind and solar costs are going down, experts argue nothing can replace the carbon-free, baseload generation offered by nuclear, and a more concerted effort is needed to make nuclear more economically viable.
By showing uranium can be extracted from seawater in a cost-effective fashion, the scientists have potentially opened up a limitless supply of uranium.
“Concentrations are tiny, on the order of a single grain of salt dissolved in a liter of water,” said Yi Cui, a materials scientist and co-author of the paper in Nature Energy. “But the oceans are so vast that if we can extract these trace amounts cost effectively, the supply would be endless.”
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