China creates filter extracting uranium from sea water

Researchers at the Northeast Normal University in China have successfully tapped seawater as a source of uranium, a widely used fuel for nuclear reactors, Report informs referring to Interesting Engineering.

The approach could help fuel the transition to a carbon-free source of energy.

As the world looks for ways to phase out fossil fuels, nuclear energy is being touted as a reliable method for supporting the grid, especially when renewable sources like wind and solar do not work. While nuclear fusion is still in its infancy and needs to be developed further, nuclear fission is a long-known and scalable approach for power generation.

Nuclear fission releases energy in the form of heat when a heavier atom is split into many smaller ones. This can be converted into electricity that can be supplied to the grid to tide over intermittencies of renewable energy. It is easier to split apart an atom of a heavier element, which is naturally unstable. Since uranium displays such behavior, the element is the favorite choice as fuel for nuclear fission plants.

After laboratory tests, the researchers tested their apparatus in seawater collected from the Bohai Sea. Over 24 days, the electrodes extracted 12.6 milligrams of uranium per gram of water. Interestingly, placing the cloth in water containing uranyl ions also allowed for the passive collection of uranium atoms. However, using electrochemistry was thrice as fast as natural accumulation, the researchers found.

The team also experimented with other materials to capture uranyl ions and found that the treated carbon fiber cloth performed the best. The researchers will now work on scaling up their approach in the hope that the world's oceans will soon become nuclear fuel suppliers.