Proceedings of a topical meeting on the recovery of uranium from seawater

Abstract

This report is the proceedings of a topical meeting on the recovery of uranium from seawater, held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on December 1-2, 1980. The meeting was sponsored by the United States Department of Energy and hosted by the MIT Energy Laboratory and Nuclear Engineering Department.

Workers from six different countries presented a total of sixteen papers in three major categories: the state-ofthe art resulting from past efforts; detailed results from sorber preparation and performance experiments; and overall system design aspects.

Sorbers discussed include hydrous titanium oxide, ion exchange resins, chitosan, humic acids and activated carbon. Systems for contacting seawater with the sorber include actively pumped, current and wave-powered concepts. Filter configurations include thin multilayer stacks, fluidized beds and free falling particles.

Several of the researchers estimated eventual production costs in the 200-400 $/lb U308 range, although values as high as 2000 $/lb were also quoted.

The bulk of the proceedings is comprised of the unedited papers, as provided by the authors. The proceedings also include edited transcripts of the discussions on all papers and the panel and concluding discussions.