journal article·2025-03

Challenges and Opportunities of Uranium Extraction From Seawater: a Systematic Roadmap From Laboratory to Industry

Tao Wang, Binbin Tao, Bin Zuo, Guoze Yan, Shaoqing Liu, Ruoyu Wang, Zhongzhou Zhao, Feifei Chu, Zhengtong Li, Yusuke Yamauchi, Xingtao Xu

Small Methods· Volume 9· Issue 3
Publisher page

Abstract

Abstract Uranium extraction from seawater (UES) is crucial for ensuring the sustainable development of nuclear power and has seen significant advancements in recent years. However, natural seawater is a highly complex biogeochemical system, characterized by an extremely low uranium (U) concentration (≈3.3 µg L−1), abundant competitive ions, and significant marine biological pollution, making UES a formidable challenge. This review addresses the challenges encountered in UES and explores potential methods for enhancing the industrial UES system, including membrane separation, electrochemistry, photocatalysis, and biosorption. Additionally, several representative marine tests are summarized and restrictive factors of large‐scale UES are analyzed. Finally, the further development of UES from laboratory to industry applications is promoted, with a focus on technological innovation. The goal is to stimulate innovative ideas and provide fresh insights for the future development of the UES system, bridging the gap between laboratory research and industrial implementation.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Radioactive element chemistry and processing · Chemical Synthesis and Characterization · Geochemistry and Elemental Analysis

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Marine Science and Technology College Zhejiang Ocean University Zhoushan 316022 China

College of Innovation and Industrial Engineering Wanjiang University of Technology Maanshan 243011 China

Key Laboratory of Xinjiang Coal Resources Green Mining Ministry of Education Xinjiang Institute of Engineering Urumqi 830023 China

Department of Materials Process Engineering Graduate School of Engineering Nagoya University Nagoya Aichi 464‐8601 Japan

Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) The University of Queensland Brisbane QLD 4072 Australia

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Yonsei University 50 Yonsei‐ro Seodaemun‐gu Seoul 03722 South Korea

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China

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