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Photo Credit: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
This scientific breakthrough has fundamentally changed the way we handle nuclear byproducts.
Nuclear energy is a clean source to pull from, with no carbon pollution. Understanding how to harness it is an important stride toward a healthier planet. However, there are roadblocks in utilizing nuclear energy to its full potential. Mitigating the derivatives of such energy is crucial to human health and safety, and thankfully, there has been a recent, pivotal breakthrough.
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) researchers have discovered a specific material, under the layered double hydroxides (LDH) label, that can ensnare radioactive isotopes — specifically, radioactive iodine.
According to Interesting Engineering, as radioactive iodine is “one of nuclear energy’s most stubborn threats,” this discovery will have a major impact on how nuclear byproducts are dealt with.
However, the scientists didn’t reach this groundbreaking conclusion without help. To avoid trial and error when selecting the LDH that would best neutralize radioactive iodine, according to their study, researchers used AI to simultaneously help widen their scope and narrow the possibility of a mistake.
The study, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, states, “The exploration [expanded] from an initial set of 24 binary and 96 ternary LDHs to 196 quaternary and 244 quinary candidates, requiring experimental trials for only 16 % of the total candidates.” Essentially, the implementation of machine learning gave researchers a distinct advantage — they had more options to work with and had to test fewer of them.
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As a result, they came to their discovery more quickly and efficiently. “The AI model guided the researchers to a quinary compound made of copper, chromium, iron, and aluminum … dubbed Cu₃(CrFeAl),” says Interesting Engineering.
This compound would prove to be the key they needed to reach their ultimate conclusion — that Cu₃ was the best candidate for trapping radioactive iodine at a whopping 90% rate of efficiency. Cu₃ removed radioactive iodine from contaminated water, rendering it safe once more — a concept that, before the discovery and usage of Cu₃, seemed unreachable.
The KAIST research team is now aiming “to develop iodine-absorbing powders and water filters that can be used in contaminated nuclear sites to trap radioactive iodine,” according to Interesting Engineering. Furthermore, the study itself states that this discovery is “paving the way for the accelerated development of new adsorbents to remediate hazardous materials in the environment.”
Not only does this discovery bode well for the future of nuclear energy as a whole, but it also provides a way for nuclear waste to be isolated and removed altogether. This places it even further above dirty energy. Supporting eco-friendly initiatives, such as those discovered by KAIST, is another step in the right direction for the planet.
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