Development of Novel Porous Sorbents for Extraction of Uranium from Seawater
- Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)
Climate disruption is one of the greatest crises the global community faces in the 21st century. Alarming increases in CO2, NO, SO2 and particulate matter levels will have catastrophic consequences on the environment, food supplies, and human health if no action is taken to lessen their worldwide prevalence. Nuclear energy remains the only mature technology capable of continuous base-load power generation with ultralow carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, and sulfur dioxide emissions. Over the lifetime of the technology, nuclear energy outputs less than 1.5% the carbon dioxide emissions per gigawatt hour relative to coal—about as much as onshore wind power.1 However, in order for nuclear energy to be considered a viable option in the future, a stable supply of uranium must be secured. Current estimates suggest there is less than 100 years’ worth of uranium left in terrestrial ores (6.3 million tons) if current consumption levels remain unchanged.2 It is likely, however, that demand for nuclear fuel will rise as a direct consequence of the ratification of global climate accords. The oceans, containing approximately 4.5 billion tons of uranium (U) at a uniform concentration of ~3 ppb, represent a virtually limitless supply of this resource.3 Development of technologies to recover uranium from seawater would greatly improve the U resource availability, providing a U price ceiling for the current generation and sustaining the nuclear fuel supply for future generations. Several methods have been previously evaluated for uranium sequestration including solvent extraction, ion exchange, flotation, biomass collection, and adsorption; however, none have been found to be suitable for reasons including cost effectiveness, long term stability, and selectivity.4,5 While polymer beads and fibers have been functionalized with amidoxime functional groups to afford U adsorption capacities as high as 1.5 g U/kg,6 further discoveries are needed to make uranium extraction from seawater economically feasible.
- Research Organization:
- Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE). Nuclear Energy University Programs (NEUP)
- DOE Contract Number:
- NE0000700
- OSTI ID:
- 1363745
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/NEUP-13-5332; 13-5332; TRN: US1702244
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Development of Novel Sorbents for Uranium Extraction from Seawater
First-Principles Integrated Adsorption Modeling for Selective Capture of Uranium from Seawater by Polyamidoxime Sorbent Materials