Uranium Seawater Extraction Makes Nuclear Power Completely Renewable
There’s enough uranium dissolved in the oceans to power the world for 100,000 years and more. The challenge is that’s it’s very dilute: Just 0.003 ppm … that’s 3.3 parts per billion, which is like a single grain of salt in a liter of water.
until they fill with uranium. Then a wireless signal would release them to float to the surface where
the uranium could be recovered and the fibers reused. It doesn’t matter where in the world the fibers
are floating. Source: Andy Sproles at ORNL
The good news is that there’s a known chemical reaction and method for capturing it, albeit at a cost ($200/kg) about twice that of getting if from mining uranium ore on land. Japan, the USA and China are all developing better technologies which hopefully will mean lower costs, better yields, more re-usability.
- Here’s a Stanford engineering summary with a simple, clear explanation of the chemistry.
- Here’s a good description of the basic method (depicted at the right) of having fabric strips fixed to the ocean floor letting currents pass by and allowing the strips to bind with the molecule holding the uranium. Periodically, the strips are collected, the uranium removed and enriched and the strips recycled and redeployed in the ocean for another period of duty.
- Here’s a recent report of a test facility deployed by China.
- And here’s a report from last year announcing major advances in the “capture rate” of a new method.