About this Research Topic
Until now, the fuels used by humans have been dominated by chemical fuels. In recent times fossil fuels (namely oil, natural gas, and coal) have been the mains fuels for society. The fossil fuels that nature has gradually formed over millions of years may be depleted by humans within a few hundred years.
The greenhouse gases released during the extraction and use of fossil fuels are major contributors to climatic change. Minimizing the consumption of non-renewable fossil fuels and using renewable energy is an important step towards a sustainable future.
Nuclear power is a climate-safe energy system which offers a supply of energy for the future. Thorium based fuel cycles can allow us to generate power while minimizing long-lived alpha active wastes. For a thorium based fuel cycle, it will be increasingly important to recover thorium ores. Thorium is about three times more abundant in the earth’s crust than uranium, and the ore grade is higher, making it easier to mine. However, thorium usually coexists with other minerals (such as rare earth minerals), and the utilization rate in the current production process is low, resulting in great environmental pollution and waste of resources.
In addition, the separation of radioactive actinides from lanthanides is currently one of the main challenges in nuclear waste processing.
The goal of this Research Topic is to develop novel and more sustainable methods to extract and process radioactive elements.
Given the chemical similarities between lanthanides and actinides, the separation process can be difficult. Researchers generally believe that actinides have larger valence orbitals, so they contribute more to the convalence of metal-ligand bonds than lanthanides, but their intrinsic fundamental mechanism is still the subject of research. In general, liquid-liquid solvent extraction is widely used to extract radioactive elements from highly acidic solutions. However, the extraction process generates a large amount of wastewater and sludge and requires a high demand for large-scale extraction equipment. In recent years, solid-phase extraction has been widely used to efficiently extract thorium from aqueous media due to its high recovery, low consumption, and cost. Many materials have been used as sorbents to remove thorium from highly concentrated acids. However, most thorium complexed ligands are usually grafted to the surface of the absorbent by chemical modification, and the grafting yield is low, resulting in poor absorption capacity and poor selectivity.
In this Research, we welcome research on the following topics, but are not limited to:
-Design, synthesis, and characterization of novel materials for lanthanum/actinide separation
-Greener method for the synthesis of new polymers, silicon materials, graphene oxide, MOF, COF, etc.
-Novel and sustainable processes for the separation of Th and U from rare earth minerals
-New technologies for the preparation of ultra-low radioactivity high purity (rare earth) oxides
-Environmental, social, and economic assessment for the sustainability of radionuclide recovery
-Regulatory issues for the separation and recovery of radionuclides
-New Reactor Designs
The greenhouse gases released during the extraction and use of fossil fuels are major contributors to climatic change. Minimizing the consumption of non-renewable fossil fuels and using renewable energy is an important step towards a sustainable future.
Nuclear power is a climate-safe energy system which offers a supply of energy for the future. Thorium based fuel cycles can allow us to generate power while minimizing long-lived alpha active wastes. For a thorium based fuel cycle, it will be increasingly important to recover thorium ores. Thorium is about three times more abundant in the earth’s crust than uranium, and the ore grade is higher, making it easier to mine. However, thorium usually coexists with other minerals (such as rare earth minerals), and the utilization rate in the current production process is low, resulting in great environmental pollution and waste of resources.
In addition, the separation of radioactive actinides from lanthanides is currently one of the main challenges in nuclear waste processing.
The goal of this Research Topic is to develop novel and more sustainable methods to extract and process radioactive elements.
Given the chemical similarities between lanthanides and actinides, the separation process can be difficult. Researchers generally believe that actinides have larger valence orbitals, so they contribute more to the convalence of metal-ligand bonds than lanthanides, but their intrinsic fundamental mechanism is still the subject of research. In general, liquid-liquid solvent extraction is widely used to extract radioactive elements from highly acidic solutions. However, the extraction process generates a large amount of wastewater and sludge and requires a high demand for large-scale extraction equipment. In recent years, solid-phase extraction has been widely used to efficiently extract thorium from aqueous media due to its high recovery, low consumption, and cost. Many materials have been used as sorbents to remove thorium from highly concentrated acids. However, most thorium complexed ligands are usually grafted to the surface of the absorbent by chemical modification, and the grafting yield is low, resulting in poor absorption capacity and poor selectivity.
In this Research, we welcome research on the following topics, but are not limited to:
-Design, synthesis, and characterization of novel materials for lanthanum/actinide separation
-Greener method for the synthesis of new polymers, silicon materials, graphene oxide, MOF, COF, etc.
-Novel and sustainable processes for the separation of Th and U from rare earth minerals
-New technologies for the preparation of ultra-low radioactivity high purity (rare earth) oxides
-Environmental, social, and economic assessment for the sustainability of radionuclide recovery
-Regulatory issues for the separation and recovery of radionuclides
-New Reactor Designs
Keywords: Rare Earth Minerals, Nuclear Waste, Nuclear Energy, Radionuclide, Lanthanum/Actinide Seperation, Absorbing Material, New Reactor Designs
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
