A DESIGNER polymer that can extract uranium from water has been developed by
chemists at the University of York. Paul Walton and his colleagues initially
made the polymer鈥攅thylene glycol dimethacrylate impregnated with
chloroacrylate鈥攚ith uranium mixed in. They then washed out the uranium
with concentrated nitric acid. The holes in the polymer were just the right size
to re-absorb uranium ions from water (Chemical Communications, number
4, p 273).
鈥淲e showed that the polymer selectively picks up uranium over other ions,鈥�
says Walton, whose colleagues included chemists at British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL).
By washing out the uranium with nitric acid, the polymer can be used time and
again. 鈥淏NFL are interested in using this material and others to detect and
remove uranium from process streams,鈥� says Walton.