Chinese scientists have made a breakthrough in extracting uranium from seawater, increasing the efficiency of the process by 40 times. This could change the situation in nuclear power, where China is heavily dependent on imports.
China imports about 13,000 tons of uranium annually, while its own production is only 1,700 tons. To reduce dependence on supplies, the country is actively looking for alternative sources. The ocean contains colossal reserves of uranium – 4.5 billion tons, but it is extremely difficult to extract it: there are only 3 milligrams of the element in a ton of water, and it is also mixed with vanadium.
Researchers from Lanzhou University have developed a new material based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The addition of diphenylethylene (DAE) maintained high adsorption efficiency even under ultraviolet light. In tests, the material showed record results: absorption of 588 mg of uranium per gram and separation coefficient of uranium and vanadium – 215.
China intends to establish industrial mining of uranium from the sea by 2050. It was planned to obtain the first kilogram of concentrate by 2025, and by 2035 to build an experimental installation for tons of uranium. This is critical for energy security: by 2040, the country’s needs will exceed 40,000 tons per year.
Source: hightech.plus
