How is uranium extracted from sea water?

Scientists have long known that uranium dissolved in seawater combines chemically with oxygen to form uranyl ions with a positive charge. Extracting these uranyl ions involves dipping plastic fibers containing a compound called amidoxime into seawater. The uranyl ions essentially stick to the amidoxime.

How is uranium extracted?

Mining: When uranium is near the surface, miners dig the rock out of open pits. Open pit mining strips away the topsoil and rock that lie above the uranium ore. When uranium is found deep underground, miners must dig underground mines to reach it. The rock is then removed through underground tunnels.

How much does it cost to extract uranium from seawater?

So as the cost of extracting U from seawater falls to below $100/lb, it will become a commercially viable alternative to mining new uranium ore. But even at $200/lb of U3O8, it doesn’t add more than a small fraction of a cent per kWh to the cost of nuclear power.

How is uranium extracted for nuclear energy?

After the uranium ore is extracted from an open pit or underground mine, it is refined into uranium concentrate at a uranium mill. The ore is crushed, pulverized, and ground into a fine powder. Chemicals are added to the fine powder, which causes a reaction that separates the uranium from the other minerals.

How much uranium is in the ocean?

The world’s oceans contain more than 4 billion metric tons of dissolved uranium, a reserve 1000 times as great as terrestrial deposits.

How much uranium is there in seawater?

It’s estimated that there is at least four billion tons of uranium in seawater, which is about 500 times the amount of uranium known to exist in land-based ores, which must be mined. Mining of underground uranium has environmental challenges not encountered with extracting it from the oceans.

How much does it cost to mine uranium?

According to EIA’s 2013 Domestic Uranium Production Report, the average cost to mine uranium in the United States is $67.10 per pound (includes expenses for land, exploration, drilling, production, and reclamation) – far above the current spot market price of $36.50 (as of January 19, 2015).

Is uranium mining renewable?

Nuclear fuel made with uranium extracted from seawater makes nuclear power completely renewable. It’s that uranium extracted from seawater is replenished continuously, so nuclear becomes as endless as solar, hydro and wind.