Challenges in the design of a prototype contactor assembly for the recovery of uranium from seawater
by N.K. Prasad, Kavindra Pathak, Manish Kumar, A.W. Matkar, T.L. Prasad, A.K. Saxena
International Journal of Nuclear Desalination (IJND), Vol. 3, No. 3, 2009

Abstract: The total estimated quantity of uranium in oceans is around four and a half billion tonnes. Harvesting uranium from seawater is much less taxing to the environment. Thus, when uranium is harvested from seawater with near-zero environmental burdens, it will become a totally green fuel in the hands of humankind, as uranium generates primary calories without giving CO₂ emissions and leaves no mill tailings at the recovery site while recovering it for use in reactors. To extract uranium from seawater, a contactor assembly that contains radiation-grafted polyacrylamid oxime (PAO) is used to trap the loosely bonded uranyl ion. Some of the design constraints for contractor assembly are the maximisation of the grafted sheet area and strength to withstand extreme marine conditions. The material should be compatible with the hot processing chemicals and be extremely cost effective, as well as lightweight. Design also has to take into account the ease of loading/unloading of grafted sheet modules, ease of replacement of grafted sheets, fixing of cage modules in seabed and load equilibrium even in high and low tide. This paper will cover the various challenges involved in designing a contactor assembly.

Online publication date: Wed, 01-Apr-2009

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Nuclear Desalination (IJND):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com