Bipolar Uranium Extraction From Seawater With Ultra-Low Cell Voltage
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As prevalent as uranium is in the earth’s crust, the world’s oceans hold approximately a thousand times more uranium—an estimated 4.5 billion tons—than what can currently be mined. This fact makes the extraction of uranium and other resources from seawater an intriguing proposition. However, it also presents the challenge of developing a technological solution that can efficiently filter these highly diluted substances in an economically viable manner. Recently, researchers have made significant strides toward this goal.
The electrochemical method employed in this study is detailed in a paper by Yanjing Wang et al., published in Nature Sustainability. They claim a remarkable recovery rate of up to 100% of uranium from seawater, with a projected cost of approximately $83 per kilogram. This is a significant reduction compared to previous methods and brings it close to current uranium spot prices, which range from $70 to $85.
One of the key innovations in this low-voltage method is that uranium oxide ions are converted to solid uranium oxides at both the anode and cathode, unlike in previous electrochemical techniques. The copper anode actively participates in the electrochemical process, resulting in UO2 being deposited on the cathode and U3O8 on the anode.
This prototype has demonstrated impressive performance statistics, effectively extracting UO22+ ions from sodium chloride solutions at concentrations between 1 and 50 ppm. At a concentration of 20 ppm, and in the presence of chloride ions—common in seawater—the extraction rate reached nearly 100%, compared to only about 9.1% with traditional adsorption methods. Notably, this process operates at a mere cell voltage of 0.6 V with a current of 50 mA while maintaining a high selectivity for uranium. Additionally, it prevents copper pollution in the water, as any dissolved copper from the anode was found deposited on the cathode during testing.
The method has also been tested using actual seawater from the East and South China Seas, achieving a 100% recovery rate after ten hours of operation in one area, and an 85.3% recovery rate in another. The authors suggest that with further optimization of the electrodes, this extraction technique could become a viable solution for recovering uranium not only from seawater but potentially from uranium mining facilities as well.
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