Cost optimization of a symbiotic system to harvest uranium from seawater via an offshore wind turbine

• Published in: Ocean engineering Vol. 169; no. C; pp. 227 - 241
• Main Authors: Byers, Margaret Flicker, Haji, Maha N., Slocum, Alexander H., Schneider, Erich
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2018; Elsevier
• Subjects: Engineering; Nuclear power; Oceanography; Offshore wind turbine; Optimization; Symbiotic system; Systems analysis; Uranium; Nuclear power; Offshore wind turbine; Systems analysis; Uranium; Symbiotic system; Optimization
• ISSN: 0029-8018; 1873-5258
• DOI: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2018.09.002

The recovery of uranium from seawater has the potential to transform the perceived sustainability of energy generated by uranium intensive nuclear fuel cycles, while providing environmental benefits as compared to land-based mining. Combining a seawater uranium harvester with an existing offshore wind turbine allows for denser energy recovery per unit ecosystem, as well as lowering the uranium production cost. The analysis presented in this paper focuses on the economic impacts on uranium recovered by adsorbing material deployed with such a symbiotic system as compared to a reference kelp-field like deployment. The Wind and Uranium from Seawater Acquisition symBiotic Infrastructure (WUSABI) was subjected to an independent economic analysis and design optimizations in an effort to reduce the seawater uranium cost. In addition to providing greater transparency to previous economic analyses of this system, this work alters chemical tank materials and establishes a novel means of calculating and optimizing the interval in which symbiotic systems are serviced. The perturbations proposed in this work could achieve a cost savings of 30% as compared to uranium produced from the reference kelp-field like deployment system. Additional design sensitivities are also explored to identify major cost drivers and guide future work regarding deployment location of the turbine field. •The cost-analysis of a symbiotic system to harvest seawater uranium is conducted.•Chemical tank materials are altered to more cost-effective substitutes.•A method to optimize the servicing interval of symbiotic systems is presented.•Perturbations proposed in this work could achieve a cost savings of 30%.•Major cost drivers are identified through exploring design sensitivities.