China’s ‘chemical trap’ targets seawater uranium, beats US benchmark 8-fold
Chinese scientists have created a material called PhosCage that can extract uranium from seawater at an efficiency 8 times higher than the US Department of Energy's benchmark, according to SCMP. This breakthrough could help China, which relies heavily on imported uranium, to address its growing domestic nuclear power program. The material, which resembles a sponge with phosphate groups that bind to uranium, recovered up to 50.4mg of uranium per gram of seawater, surpassing the US target of 6mg per gram.
The beads derived from PhosCage extracted 22.55mg of uranium per gram and maintained effectiveness through seven reuse cycles. The technology's success in capturing uranium over competing elements like vanadium represents a significant advancement in overcoming the challenges associated with extracting uranium from the world's vast but resource-rich oceans.
However, further research is needed to scale up the material and reduce the overall cost of extraction.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
