| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
Materials Science & Technology 2019
|
| Symposium
|
Materials for Nuclear Applications
|
| Presentation Title |
Materials for Capture of Uranium for Nuclear Fuel from Fertilizer |
| Author(s) |
Allen Apblett, Cory Perkins |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Allen Apblett |
| Abstract Scope |
The increasing problem of global climate change has renewed the worldwide interest in energy sources that do not produce greenhouse gases. This is expected to lead to a renaissance in the use of nuclear power but current terrestrial uranium reserves are only sufficient for several more decades Thus, shepherding our resources requires finding alternative sources for uranium. One widespread potential source is the uranium found in fertilizer – a wasted resource that may also have negative health effects. The Apblett research group has developed mineral-based nanometric ion exchangers that have proven useful for harvesting uranium from ocean water that have also proven useful for capture of uranium from fertilizer. The process for sorption of uranium and its eventual isolation as ammonium uranate will be discussed. |