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Could Seawater be a Source of Uranium Fuel?
Oceans and seas cover most of the Earth’s surface, and their bottoms are home to many minerals. Their waters also contain uranium ions, albeit in very small amounts. However, if we could extract these ions, they would become a highly sustainable fuel source for generating electricity through nuclear reactors.
Uranium is the most commonly used metal in nuclear reactors. It is extracted from rocks, and the Earth is estimated to contain 8 million tons of uranium. The Nuclear Energy Agency estimates that 4.5 billion tons of uranium are dissolved in the seas and oceans in the form of uranium ions. This makes the ocean’s uranium reserves about 500 times greater than those found on land.
Scientists and engineers have been investigating methods to extract uranium from seawater for decades. This requires developing selective materials that can absorb uranium and retain it. An electrochemical process is also used to attract uranium ions to these absorbent materials.
These methods face challenges in developing good absorbent materials that can retain uranium and work for a reasonable period. They also face difficulty in providing sustainable and inexpensive energy for the electrochemical process.
However, researchers continue to work on developing these materials. Wind or solar energy could be used as a…
