China scientists have managed to develop a method of extracting the uranium from the seawater using candle wax. This technology could be an important step towards using practically inexhaustible nuclear fuel reserves.
According to the onlineLibrary.wiley.com platform, the research of Chinese scientists shows that there is a mechanism capable of providing humanity nuclear energy for thousands of years.
Uranium is a key element for the operation of nuclear power plants. But the reserves on the land are limited – they would arrive for about 100 years. Instead, oceans contain about 4.5 billion tons of uranium, which could ensure humanity for several millennia. Theoretical. However, the problem consists in the low concentration of uranium in seawater, which makes its extraction a difficult and expensive process.
Chinese scientists have proposed a technology based on porous hydrogel balls, which effectively absorb uranium from seawater. The base material is polyamidoxime (a substance capable of attracting metals) combined with candle melted wax. After cooling and removal of the wax, porous particles resulted, which were then encapsulated in a mixture and polyacrylic acid.
Balls with a diameter of 3 mm offered impressive results: out of 10 liters of ordinary sea water were extracted 4.79 mg of uranium, only one gram of balls and 15 days of process were required. Under laboratory conditions, the yield reached 8.23 mg.
Nuclear power plants are considered a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels. However, there are questions about safety and storage of radioactive waste. The researchers hope that, in the future, nuclear energy will be replaced by nuclear fusion – a process without waste, which works based on the reactions similar to those on the sun. But the technologies for nuclear fusion have not yet been fully mastered.
