Mineral e.g. uranium extraction from liquid body e.g. sea - by passing flow through flexible sheet of permeable adsorbing material

摘要

Mineral (e.g. uranium) is extracted from a liquid (e.g. sea) by passing flow through a bed comprising thin flexible sheets of permeable adsorbing material. A sheet may be held with its surface horizontal or moved relative to the sea by an attached line which may be secured to a buoy. The line may pass through the sheet to an anchor on the sea-bed allowing the sheet to sink under its own weight. Retrieval of a sheet is achieved by attaching to it a line from a boat or other object, (possibly the same line) at the central region of the sheet, in such a way that the operation first produces an umbrella-style folding of the sheet. Using a titanium hydroxide adsorber, the method is partially suited to the extraction of uranium from the sea as carbonate. Assuming a uranium concentration of 3 mg/m3, and a sheet radius of 56 m, a single sinking to 1000m depth could produce a maximum yield of 30 Kg of uranium.