Scientists at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics have made a breakthrough by creating hydrogel particles from candle wax that are capable of capturing and extracting uranium from seawater. This development would change the sources of this nuclear fuel, offering a possible alternative to limited terrestrial resources.
A method that manages to “extract uranium from sea water”
The team used a wax casting method to create polyamidoxime in porous hydrogel particles. These particles were then encapsulated in a polymeric compound, and the absorbent beads were subsequently able to extract 4.79 milligrams of uranium per gram in tests with real seawater, a result that experts say has “great potential” for uranium capture .
In China, building nuclear power plants is a major challenge due to the low quality of its land-based uranium reserves and its dependence on imports. However, the oceans contain around 4.5 billion tons of uranium.
These developed beads are reusable and maintain high efficiency, even after several cycles of use. In addition, the procedure is economical and scalable, ideal for large-scale implementations. This achievement underlines the importance of advanced polymeric materials, such as polyamidoxime, in the search for sustainable solutions for energy generation.
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Source: SCMP
Photo: Shutterstock
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