Scientists in China use wax to make particles that can extract uranium from seawater
Hydrogel particles were made into absorbent composite beads and the results showed ‘significant potential’, team says
The scientists estimate that land-based reserves of uranium – the heavy metal used as fuel in nuclear reactors – can only sustain nuclear energy demand for a century.
But ocean reserves of uranium could keep the world powered for more than a millennium.
The team’s new wax casting method was used to prepare porous hydrogel particles, which were then made into composite beads with absorbent polymer materials that can help separate uranium ions from seawater.
“The whole preparation procedure … was simple and easy to operate, cost-effective, and easy to scale up,” the team led by researchers at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics said in a paper published last month in the peer-reviewed journal Advanced Functional Materials.
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The team found that, when tested in coastal seawater over 15 days, 4.79 milligrams of uranium could be extracted for each gram of beads used. Within simulated seawater, the team was able to obtain 8.23mg of uranium per gram of beads.
