Scientists in China have developed an organic material to extract uranium from seawater. The material is said to be cost-effective and has “exceptional uranium adsorption capability.”
Uranium, a nonrenewable energy source and the primary heavy metal used to fuel nuclear reactors, has been essential for nuclear power. The metal has traditionally been mined from rock but now scientists aim to extract uranium ore from seawater.
Researchers from the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) selected affordable sodium alginate (SA) and functional DNA strands to fabricate SA-DNA hydrogel microspheres for the selective adsorption of uranyl ions (UO22+) in an economically viable manner.
Higher selectivity for uranium
Compared to reported advanced adsorbents utilizing the amidoxime group for uranium extraction, the SA-DNA hydrogel microspheres demonstrated significantly higher selectivity for uranium, with uranium-to-vanadium ratios of 43.6 in simulated seawater and 8.62 in natural seawater. READ MORE...
Moreover, this new absorbent is environmentally friendly, cost-effective, easily synthesized, and with impressive mechanical robustness and recyclability. Owing to the distinct ability of specific DNAzymes to recognize various metal ions, such DNA-based adsorbents may be utilized to retrieve other valuable metal ions from seawater, according to the study.
