An EU-funded project aims to reduce radioactive waste and recover valuable resources simultaneously.
In addition to expanding renewable energy, countries around the world, including some in Europe, are increasingly turning to nuclear power as a low-emission alternative. However, the disposal of radioactive waste remains a contentious issue. In Germany, for example, finding a suitable site for long-term storage could take decades. A new EU project, however, is exploring a different approach: extracting valuable raw materials from nuclear waste.
The project, “MaLaR – Novel 2D-3D Materials for Lanthanide Recovery from Nuclear Waste,” has been awarded €2.3 million in funding over the next three years. Led by Professor Kristina Kvashnina from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), the project also involves research institutions in France, Sweden, and Romania.
The project focuses on recovering lanthanides, a group of chemical elements that include most rare earth elements. These materials are essential for applications such as electromobility, wind energy, consumer electronics, contrast agents, and catalysis. Since rare earth production is largely concentrated in China, the EU aims to reduce its reliance on imports, with recycling being a key strategy.
Developing a Greener and More Efficient Separation Process for Rare Earths
To recover these materials from nuclear waste, the waste must first be broken down into its components. Kvashnina explains that this process is not only complicated by the usual safety risks of handling radioactive elements but also by the strong chemical similarities between rare earth elements. Current separation methods to separate cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, and the like are energy- and chemical-intensive, often producing additional waste. The MaLaR project aims to create a more environmentally friendly and efficient method for separating rare earths, applicable to both nuclear and industrial waste.
The researchers will employ sorption, a process in which specific radioactive elements in liquid nuclear waste attach to a solid sorbent material, allowing them to be isolated from other substances. Graphene oxides, which are porous carbon-based materials, will be used as “element catchers.” Studies have shown that graphene oxides could significantly outperform current industrial sorbents for radionuclides. Kvashnina and her team plan to optimize the electronic structure of graphene oxides to unlock their full potential.
The goal of MaLaR is to develop market-ready technological solutions that not only recover valuable raw materials from waste but also improve the safety of radioactive waste disposal. The innovative separation methods could help isolate isotopes with different half-lives, enabling safer long-term storage.
More on Innovation: Researchers worldwide are also exploring new, greener methods for extracting and separating rare earth elements, including using microbes or electric currents.
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