Chinese scientists develop MOF method to remove tritium from wastewater
Technology
Chinese scientists have found a new, much more efficient method to clean up tritium, a tricky radioactive form of hydrogen, from polluted water.
Their technique uses a special material called a metal-organic framework (MOF) and could be a game-changer for nuclear wastewater treatment, making it much less energy-intensive than current options.
MOF achieves over 100x tritium removal
Tritium is tough to separate because it acts almost exactly like regular water.
The team's MOF boosts the available area of the packing by 32-fold and swaps out radioactive tritium for normal hydrogen.
Lab tests showed their method is more than 100 times more effective than the best existing technology, meaning cleaner water and less environmental risk in the future.