UPTON, N.Y., Sept. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say they expect the rising cost and dwindling supply of fossil fuels will soon again make nuclear power a plausible energy option.
To that end, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory are addressing one important safety aspect of that issue -- the use of materials called ionic liquids.
The scientists say if such liquid salts are used in nuclear fuel reprocessing -- the chemical removal of reusable nuclear material from spent nuclear reactor fuel -- the risk of unintended nuclear chain reactions may be substantially reduced.
Ionic liquids, which contain only electrically charged molecules known as ions, have several properties that make them attractive as an alternative medium for nuclear fuel reprocessing, researchers said. Those include low volatility, low combustibility, and resistance to being electrochemically oxidized or reduced.
Brookhaven Lab chemist James Wishart presented his research Monday on how ionic liquids containing the element boron react with radiation. His presentation took place in San Francisco, during the American Chemical Society's annual national meeting.
