Indian scientists have created a filter with record monthly uranium extraction efficiency to extract uranium from natural seawater. Article published in the journal Energy and Environmental Science.
Engineers created an ionic macroporous filter with various functional groups on an organometallic framework. Its effect was tested on seawater collected from the Arabian Sea in Mumbai. The adsorbent showed a record uranium absorption capacity of 28.2 mg per gram in just 25 days. This is an absolute record among all commercially available filters ever reported.
Large-scale uranium mining from seawater is now more necessary than ever, due to rising energy demand and global climate change. But the sediments are nearly gone, and the new highly selective and fast absorber could be a potential candidate for the efficient extraction of uranium from natural seawater.
The study was carried out by the staff of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, the Center for Symbiotic Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and the Water Research Center.