Nuclear and radiochemistry in China: present status and future perspectives

Abstract

Actinides / Nuclear energy chemistry / Radioanalytical chemistry / Radiopharmaceutical chemistry / Education and training / ChinaSummary. Nuclear and radiochemistry is one of the frontier areas of chemistry with high impact on national security, energy supply, scientific advances, social and economic development. Nuclear and radiochemistry in China is now experiencing a renaissance, which is being strongly motivated by China's huge demand for nuclear energy. With this in review, the progress in nuclear and radiochemistry of China is selectively addressed. Some hot topics have been summarized and the main research results achieved by Chinese scientists in this field are highlighted, with emphasis on the basic nuclear chemistry, actinide and trans-actinide chemistry, chemistry of spent nuclear fuel reprocessing, radioanalytical chemistry, environmental radiochemistry and radiopharmaceutical chemistry, etc. Some measures about how to promote the radiochemical education and research in China are suggested, and future perspectives are briefly outlined as well.

Radiochemical Separation Techniques in Classroom Settings

“…In contrast, China is experiencing a renaissance in these fields because of a very large demand for nuclear energy, and many academic programs have been established to meet this demand including both undergraduate and graduate-level degrees in radiochemistry and nuclear chemical engineering. 3 To fill this gap in the United States, degree-granting programs, or courses at the minimum, in N&RC ought to be widely accessible. The utilization of virtual reality technology has enabled an unprecedented education mode and such application has been attempted in teaching introductory N&RC courses, too.…”

“…The number of people with N&RC expertise has stagnated at a low level, if not steadily decreased, over the past five decades in the United States, although N&RC-pertaining programs (e.g., chemistry, chemical engineering, and nuclear engineering) are prevalent. In contrast, China is experiencing a renaissance in these fields because of a very large demand for nuclear energy, and many academic programs have been established to meet this demand including both undergraduate and graduate-level degrees in radiochemistry and nuclear chemical engineering . To fill this gap in the United States, degree-granting programs, or courses at the minimum, in N&RC ought to be widely accessible.…”

Biomass Energy – Effective Utilization of Crop Straws

“…Crop straws are crop residues, which contain high fiber composition after post harvest, including cereals, beans, potato, oil class, hemp, cotton, sugarcane, tobacco, fruits and other crops [1]. As a renewable resource, straws have the characteristics of wide distribution, large amount, low price and cleaning.…”