In the world’s quest to create a better, more eco friendly world, do you ever wonder how technology will play a role in that world? If you are like those of us on the Edible Landscape Initiative Team, new research into these new technologies help give you hope that we will soon live in a “green” world. In celebration of technological advances around the world, for the next 5 weeks we will be looking into new technologies that could change the way that we live life and gain energy from our beautiful planet.
This week we will be talking about Uranium 128 mining, but not in the way you might think. Uranium 128 is used to run nuclear power plants, and is usually mined like any other natural substance: by drilling into the earth's surface and capturing the Uranium stored there. But did you know that there is actually another way to capture Uranium 128?
(The picture on the left and above are both of uranium mines. It is clear to see they have a big impact on the earth around them.)
Scientists have been researching a new, “cleaner”, method to capture Uranium, and surprisingly it’s not from the earth’s crust. Scientists at the LCW Supercritical Technologies and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have pioneered a new method of Uranium 128 capture, and it involves something that covers 71% of the earth’s surface. The ocean. Surprisingly, this method not only takes uranium in a more safe and clean way, it also captures more Uranium in the same timeframe as typical uranium mining. You might be wondering, can this really be true? And if it is so “clean” then why isn’t this the method that we are using for uranium capture now? These are all valid questions, and ones that I am hoping to answer by explaining the process of underwater uranium capture.
In order to mine uranium under the sea, commercially available acrylic fibres are chemically modified to increase uranium absorption, and then they are submerged in the ocean. These fibres are rigged to a system that allows them to detach from the rest of the fibres and float to the surface once they have absorbed their highest capacity of uranium. This easy to use system is also great because since uranium is so dilute in the ocean, it is able to be regenerated at a rate that would make this type of uranium extraction renewable. Thus leading nuclear energy to be renewable. This new development in uranium mining could not only make nuclear energy more clean, but solve the renewable energy debate.
(The pictures above and to the right are all depicting the fibres used to collect uranium from under the sea.)
Hopefully this post has given you more information about new technologies impacting the nuclear energy field! Stay tuned for next week’s post about how we could use renewable energy to power the world!
- The Edible Landscape Initiative Team
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