Membrane-based Adsorbent Materials for Uranium Extraction from Seawater: Recent Progress and Future Prospects

Abstract

The global energy shortage problem is becoming more and more serious, and it is urgent to solve the energy shortage. Nuclear energy is considered to be a green, efficient and clean energy source. The reserves of uranium, an essential strategic nuclear fuel resource, have become pivotal in addressing the energy crisis. Compared with uranium resources on land, the ocean is rich in uranium resources. Therefore, uranium extraction from seawater has become an ideal choice. However, the variety of competing ions in seawater, the high salinity of seawater and the complex Marine environment make extracting uranium from seawater a huge challenge. In the context of assessing the economics and sustainability of the entire uranium separation process, membrane-based adsorbents are considered ideal materials for wholesale extraction of uranium from seawater due to their ease of collection and reuse. At present, the review of different types of membrane-based adsorbent materials, mainly including modified non-woven membrane, phase conversion membrane, and other types of membrane materials are given. In addition, this review summarizes the recent studies on the use of membrane-based adsorbents for extracting uranium from seawater and the prospects for their development. With the rapid development of membrane-based adsorbents towards uranium extraction from seawater, this review also discusses the challenges and prospects of this frontier field.

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
04 Nov 2024
Accepted
30 Jan 2025
First published
11 Feb 2025

Nanoscale, 2025, Accepted Manuscript

Membrane-based Adsorbent Materials for Uranium Extraction from Seawater: Recent Progress and Future Prospects

Z. Liu, H. Tan, Y. Shao, G. Nie, Z. Hou, P. Yang, S. Li and C. Liu, Nanoscale, 2025, Accepted Manuscript , DOI: 10.1039/D4NR04603J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements