Uranium
recovery from seawater has been investigated for several
decades for the purpose of securing nuclear fuel for energy production.
In this study, field column experiments have been performed at the
Marine Sciences Laboratory of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
(PNNL) using a laboratory-proven, amidoxime-based polymeric adsorbent
developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The adsorbent
was packed either in in-line filters or in flow-through columns. The
maximum amount of uranium uptake from seawater was 3.3 mg of U/g of
adsorbent after 8 weeks of contact between the adsorbent and seawater.
This uranium adsorption amount was about 3 times higher than the maximum
amount achieved in this study by a leading adsorbent developed at
the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). Both adsorbents were tested
under similar conditions. The results were used to update an assessment
of the cost of large-scale recovery of uranium from seawater using
the ORNL adsorbent. The updated uranium production cost was estimated
to be reduced to $610/kg of U, approximately half the cost estimated
for the JAEA technology.
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