European Coal Ash Investigated for Producing Uranium.

[NNadir]

Many people do not recognize that if coal plants were held to the same radiation standards as nuclear plants, many would be shut, since coal plants emit significant radiation. The reason for this effect is that uranium is adsorbed on to carbon and during the formation of coal deposits was therefore concentrated by natural processes. When the carbon is burned as coal the uranium is released, part of it as an aerosol of fine particles.

Some of the uranium remains behind in one form of dangerous fossil fuel waste that is routinely dumped (with few restrictions) in million ton quantities around the world - coal ash.

It seems that European brown coal is particularly subject to these conditions. This is ironic, given that Germany has decided to phase out nuclear power in favor of coal burning - and Germany plans to burn dirty brown coal for this dubious effort. Now however, it seems that at least the uranium may be recovered from this toxic waste and used to power nuclear reactors in rational countries:

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/explorationNuclearFuel/250507-WildHorse_and_Sparton_study_European_coal_ash.shtml

Australia's WildHorse Energy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Canada's Sparton Resources to undertake and fund a one-year program to identify and evaluate the possibility of extracting commercial quantities of uranium from waste coal ash produced by thermal power plants in several central European countries. These plant burn lignitic or brown coals with high uranium content.

Europe produces more than 50 million tonnes of coal ash each year, some of which could potentially be developed into a significant supply of uranium. The uranium content of coal ash can vary from 100-300 parts per million (ppm) uranium oxide (U3O8). WildHorse sees the extraction of uranium from coal ash as a low cost and fast track path to uranium production.


The initial phase of the program will involve identification, sampling and leach testing of various types of ash samples from a number of power plants. WildHorse and Sparton will contribute up to A$500,000 ($410,000) for this phase, which is expected to take about six months. Afterwards, scoping studies and pre-feasibility reports to develop process engineering flow sheets and uranium recovery plant design would be commissioned.

[whistle]

1. Wow, so for several centuries now industrialization has been

....has been poisoning the atmosphere with radiation. Now wonder we have so much cancer!

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Several metals are recovered from the flue ash of zinc smelters ...

and there has evidently been some research into recovery of germanium and gallium from coal flue dust.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=germanium+from+flue+ash&btnG=Google+Search

So, why NOT thorium and uranium?

[NNadir]

3. Without wishing to encourage the use of coal, it is clear that coal ash can be considered

a low grade uranium ore.

The extraordinary energy density of uranium makes it profitable to recover uranium (at least when uranium prices are high enough) from ores that are relatively diffuse.

The bottom line though, is cost. Uranium is relatively high priced right now, but if prices fall, it may not prove profitable to do this. In any case the price of uranium has very little to do with the cost of nuclear power because, again, of the high energy density.

[amandabeech]

4. Tailings from phosphorus mining also contain uranium.

The southeast U.S., particularly Florida, has been a center of phosphate mining for many decades.

With high uranium prices, it might be profitable to remove the uranium.

If anyone is interested, I might be able to find some articles. I saw it several years ago in the Yahoo Group EnergyResources, which was once a good source of info until it turned into a doomer/survivalist site, like many internet energy groups/lists/blogs.

[Dogmudgeon]

5. According to philb's recent post: 12 tons per MWe per year

That 12 ton figure is for both uranium and thorium.

(Sorry, I don't have the URL at hand now.)

On the other hand (not the one that does'nt have the URL), since I consider myself mathematically deficient, if you know otherwise, please post it. I have not been able to find better stats on this, anh philb was quoting from printed material.

--p!