Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Environment
Why in News?
Recently, a new study published a breakthrough method to filter tritium from nuclear wastewater, using a metal‑organic framework (MOF).
- Tritium – Radioactive isotope of hydrogen; forms tritiated water (HTO) when bonded with oxygen.
- Problem – Chemically identical to normal water, making separation extremely difficult.
Conventional Approach
- Materials inside the tower that provide surfaces where steam and liquid can interact.
- These packings just sit there; steam and liquid interact only because of gravity.
New Method – Metal‑Organic Framework (MOF)
- Stainless‑steel mesh coated with a metal‑organic framework called NH₂‑MIL‑101(Cr).
- MOF acts like a microscopic sponge, increasing surface area 32‑fold; more surface area means better contact between steam and liquid.
- The chromium‑oxygen clusters inside the MOF grab tritium atoms.
- They swap tritium with normal hydrogen atoms.
- Nitrogen and hydrogen groups in the MOF help this swapping process.
- Efficiency – Achieved 42.5 theoretical plates per metre separation efficiency, a record-setting figure in the world of chemical engineering.
This innovation helps tackle the problem of Japan releasing treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean
Significance
- Environmental Protection – Reduces tritium release into oceans, mitigating ecological risks.
- Public Health – Tritium is easily absorbed by living organisms and rapidly distributed via blood.
- Nuclear Safety – Offers a practical alternative to dilution, addressing global concerns over Fukushima wastewater.
- Scientific Breakthrough – Nobel Prize‑winning work was awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi for the development of MOFs.
Reference
The Hindu | MOF
