Extraction of uranium from seawater: chemical process and plant design feasibility study

Technical Report · Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1979

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6456808· OSTI ID:6456808

Campbell, M H; Frame, J M; Dudey, N D; Kiel, G R; Mesec, V; Woodfield, F W; Binney, S E; Jante, M R; Anderson, R C; Clark, G T

A major assessment was made of the uranium resources in seawater. Several concepts for moving seawater to recover the uranium were investigated, including pumping the seawater and using natural ocean currents or tides directly. The optimal site chosen was on the southeastern Puerto Rico coast, with the south U.S. Atlantic coast as an alternate. The various processes for extracting uranium from seawater were reviewed, with the adsorption process being the most promising at the present time. Of the possible adsorbents, hydrous titanium oxide was found to have the best properties. A uranium extraction plant was conceptually designed. Of the possible methods for contacting the seawater with the adsorbent, a continuous fluidized bed concept was chosen as most practical for a pumped system. A plant recovering 500 tonnes of U/sub 3/O/sub 8/ per year requires 5900 cubic meters per second of seawater to be pumped through the adsorbent beds for a 70% overall recovery efficiency. Total cost of the plant was estimated to be about $6.2 billion. A computer model for the process was used for parametric sensitivity studies and economic projections. Several design case variations were developed. Other topics addressed were the impact of co-product recovery, environmental considerations, etc.

• Research Organization: Bendix Field Engineering Corp., Grand Junction, CO (United States); Exxon Nuclear Co., Inc., Richland, WA (USA); Oregon State Univ., Corvallis (USA). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering; Vitro Engineering Co., New York (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: EY-76-C-13-1664
• OSTI ID: 6456808
• Report Number(s): GJBX-36(79)(Vol.1); OSU-NE-7901(Vol.1); TRN: 79-010211
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
SEAWATER
SEPARATION PROCESSES
URANIUM
RECOVERY
ADSORPTION
CAPITAL
COST
DESIGN
ECONOMICS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FLUIDIZED BED
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
NUMERICAL DATA
OPTIMIZATION
TABLES
ACTINIDES
DATA
DATA FORMS
ELEMENTS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
METALS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
SORPTION
WATER
050400* - Nuclear Fuels- Feed Processing