Researchers have long known that uranium dissolved in seawater combines chemically with oxygen to form uranyl ions with a positive charge. By sending pulses of electricity down the fiber, they altered the properties of the hybrid fibre so that more uranyl ions could be collected."But the oceans are so vast that if we can extract these trace amounts cost effectively, the supply would be endless," said Cui.Researchers believe that a practical way to extract uranium from seawater is needed to reduce the energy insecurity of nations that depend on nuclear power but lack uranium within their own borders.

How practical this approach is depends on three main variables - how much uranyl sticks to the fibres, how quickly ions can be captured and how many times the fibers can be reused. The electrified fibre captured three times as much uranyl during an 11-hour test using seawater from Half Moon Bay, about an hour from Stanford and had three times the useful lifespan of the standard amidoxime.In these tests she found that by roof screw colours the time the standard amidoxime fibre had become saturated, Stanfords amidoxime-carbon hybrid fibres had already adsorbed nine times as much uranyl and were still not saturated. First she tested how much uranyl each type of fiber could hold before reaching saturation."

Concentrations are tiny, on the order of a single grain of salt dissolved in a litre of water," said Yi Cui, a materials scientist at Stanford University in the US.Postdoctoral scholar Chong Liu oversaw the lab tests that compared Stanfords amidoxime-carbon hybrid fibers with todays amidoxime fibres.Researchers from Stanford University in the US improved on all three variables: capacity, rate and reuse. A practical method for extracting that uranium, which produces higher quantities in less time, could help make nuclear power a viable part of the quest for a carbon-free energy future..Scientists are developing a new way of extracting uranium from seawater, an advance that may help countries that lack resources to harness nuclear power from the oceans.

The uranyl ions essentially stick to the amidoxime.Trace amounts of uranium exists in seawater, but efforts to extract that critical ingredient for nuclear power have produced insufficient quantities to make it a viable source for those countries that lack uranium mines.Extracting these uranyl ions involves dipping plastic fibers containing a compound called amidoxime into seawater. Their key advance was to create a conductive hybrid fiber incorporating carbon and amidoxime. When the strands become saturated, the plastic is chemically treated to free the uranyl, which then has to be refined for use in reactors just like ore from a mine.