A Venus flytrap for nuclear waste
Proving there's no science like accidental science, Northwestern researchers looking for materials to facilitate ion exchange have discovered a "Venus flytrap" for radioactive cesium that has the potential filter out 100 percent of the nasty stuff in nuclear waste. Made of gallium, sulfur and antimony compound, the synthetic material is highly selective in what it will seize, but in lab tests it snatched every single cesium ion from a sodium-rich solution designed to mimic the makeup of nuclear leftovers. One reason radioactive nuclear waste is so difficult to clean up is the high ratio of sodium to cesium, which can reach 1,000:1. Picking out the radioactive ions in nuclear plant waste, for instance, would mean a good deal of water could be returned to the water cycle, and less storage space would be needed for nuclear waste materials. But filtering the cesium needles from a sodium haystack is beyond difficult. The Northwestern material is a layered structure that creates many tiny pores or "windows."
A Venus flytrap for nuclear waste
Not every object is food to a Venus flytrap. Like the carnivorous plant, a new material developed at Northwestern University permanently traps only its desired prey, the radioactive ion cesium, ...
Tue 26 Jan 10 from PhysOrg
A Venus Flytrap for Nuclear Waste, Thu 28 Jan 10 from U.S. News
A Venus flytrap for nuclear waste, Wed 27 Jan 10 from ChemistryTimes
A Venus flytrap for nuclear waste, Wed 27 Jan 10 from The Hindu
Featured - A Venus flytrap for nuclear waste, Wed 27 Jan 10 from Labspaces.net
New material sops up radioactive cesium
Isotope catcher could safely store waste from power plants
Mon 25 Jan 10 from ScienceNews
New Material Sops Up Radioactive Cesium, Tue 26 Jan 10 from U.S. News
Cesium-Snatching "Venus Flytrap" Material Takes the Bad Stuff Out of Nuclear Waste
Proving there's no science like accidental science, Northwestern researchers looking for materials to facilitate ion exchange have discovered a "Venus flytrap" for radioactive cesium that ...
Wed 27 Jan 10 from Popular Science
New synthetic material traps nuclear waste
EVANSTON, Ill., Jan. 27 (UPI) -- Northwestern University scientists say they've created a material that can trap the radioactive ion cesium while ignoring harmless ions such as sodium.
Wed 27 Jan 10 from UPI
Scientists Introduce Venus Flytrap For Nuclear Waste
Northwestern University researchers have developed a new material that could help with the remediation of nuclear waste that behaves much like a Venus Flytrap, permanently trapping only its ...
Tue 26 Jan 10 from Scientific Blogging
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