| Abstract Scope |
The world’s oceans contain more than 4.5 billion tons of uranium; however access to this resource is limited by the ability to extract uranium from seawater efficiently. Lacing fabric substrates with chemical functionalities specific for uranium adsorption is one approach to meeting this challenge. Advanced adsorbent materials are being developed using polymeric substrates with high chemical stability, excellent degradation resistance and improved mechanical properties. Fabrics include polypropylene, nylon and advanced Winged Fibers from Allasso industries featuring extremely high surface areas for improved grafting density. Using 10 MeV electron beam linear accelerator, the various fabrics have been irradiated over a wide range of dose rates, total doses and temperatures.
Innovative vinyl phosphate and oxalate exhibiting high distribution coefficients and selectivity for uranium along with excellent potential for free radical polymerization have been utilized in the functionalization of the fabric substrates. Azo compounds with higher selectivity have also been utilized but have required the use of a grafted chemical precursor. Attachment of the chelating adsorbent or its precursor to the substrate polymer is maximized through the optimization of numerous variables including monomer concentration, dose rate, total dose, solvent and temperature. |