The absorbent is environmentally safe, cost-effective, easily synthesized, mechanically strong and suitable for recycling, writes the South China Morning Post with reference to authors of the study.
Scientists in China have developed an organic absorbent to extract uranium from seawater. The developers claim that the material is cost-effective and has “exceptional ability to collect uranium” compared to existing counterparts.
Researchers from the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Biotechnology (QIBEBT) used sodium alginate (SA) and functional DNA strands to create the absorbent. The material, according to Chinese media, is a combination of DNA enzymes and composite microspheres – material obtained as a result of ion exchange between sodium alginate and calcium ions.
Enzymes act as a “detector” – they become active only when they bind to uranium ions. Then microspheres play their role, which quickly adsorb atoms dissolved in water.
Scientists reported that in experiments with simulated and real seawater, the material demonstrated high sensitivity to uranium atoms. The ratio of uranium to vanadium, a metric used to evaluate performance, was 43.6 in simulated seawater and 8.62 in normal seawater.
The scientists also note that the absorbent is environmentally friendly, cost-effective, easy to synthesize and suitable for recycling. In addition, if you replace the enzymes with ones sensitive to other ions, the same method will make it possible to extract other metals dissolved in seawater.
Uranium – a very valuable mineral that is used as a fuel source in nuclear reactors around the world. In the oceans, there is more than a thousand times more uranium than in the subsoil, but it is dissolved in small concentrations (3.3 μg/l) and it is difficult to extract it. The proposed technology is suitable as an alternative for nuclear power plants.