In spite of the measures being taken in the old continent with respect to nuclear power plants, as in the case of Spain, which plans to phase out its plants, many nations continue to bet on this type of energy. However, the fuel they use is beginning to run out and the search for this energy is now turning to the bottom of the sea.
The war between China and the United States will be fought on the seabed
Both countries are major consumers and producers of uranium to keep their nuclear reactors alive. However, like fossil fuels, uranium is a finite mineral on earth and concentrated in very few countries such as Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia, which are the largest producers.
Despite this, the news that emerged in 2012 from the Nuclear Energy Agency and the International Atomic Energy Agency that more than 4.5 billion tons of uranium had been suspended at the bottom of the sea started a race in the laboratories to see who could find the formula for its extraction.
According to this study, it is estimated that the oceans, which occupy more than 70% of the planet Earth, hold a treasure of energy a thousand times greater than the amount found in the rocks of subway caves.
Not all that glitters is uranium: This energy could cause a “submarine war” anyone wants
The discovery of the abundance of marine uranium brought peace of mind to the countries with the highest consumption and importation of this fuel, as they now had an inexhaustible source of energy. But this luminous mirage quickly began to dim.
The drawback of this underwater energy is its difficult and costly extraction process. The extraordinary quantity of uranium contained in the sea is diluted as dissolved uranyl ions, which makes it difficult to obtain.
Laboratory experiments began to be carried out to find an effective solution to this problem, with the United States at the forefront. Erich Schneider, a nuclear engineer at the University of Texas, found a temporary alternative.
About ten years ago, by using plastic substrates with uranium-related chemicals, the separation of energy atoms was achieved by obtaining between 2 and 4 grams per kilogram of plastic. However, this method proved to be very expensive to carry out.
For each kilogram of uranium obtained, about 1,230 dollars were spent, which was 10 times more than the cost of extraction by land. So in the following years, research continued. And now China seems to be taking the lead.
China gets closer to the goal with the key to unlocking the energy that lies beneath the sea
An experiment published in the American Chemical Society (ACS) in 2023 led by Rui Zhao, Guangshan Zhu and a team from Northeast Normal University in China and funded by their government found a new, more efficient formula for extracting uranium from the deep sea.
The novel method captures uranium ions by using a flexible woven fabric treated with hydroxylamine hydrochloride and carbon fibers to generate a porosity and used it as a cathode in the sea. They then added a graphite anode and applied an energy current.
The result caused the fabric to accumulate an abundant amount of uranium particles that made it turn yellow due to the prominent color of this mineral. Some 12.6 milligrams of uranium per gram of water in just 24 days was the figure achieved by this method.
Undoubtedly, it is the most satisfactory methodology found so far for the significant extraction of uranium and obtaining greater energy. There is still a long way to go outside the laboratory walls to make the goals a reality, but it is already a breakthrough in the race for success, although it is not yet as efficient as other sources of energy being developed here in America.
