London: Oceans which are a rich source of uranium may soon hold the future of nuclear power as scientists are developing a cost-effective way to extract the precious metal from the waterbodies through special mats. A team of researchers led by Robin Rogers, from University of Alabama are making cheaper and efficient mats and compounds that latch onto uranium, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported. The standard extraction technique, developed in Japan, uses mats of braided plastic fibres embedded with compounds that capture uranium atoms. Each mat is 50 to 100 yards long and suspended 100 to 200 yards under the water. After being brought back to the surface, the mats are rinsed with a mild acid solution to recover the uranium. They are then dunked in the water again in a process that can be repeated several times. Rogers and his team are exploring the use of waste shrimp shells to produce a biodegradable mat material. “Estimates indicate that oceans are a mother lode of uranium, with far more dissolved in seawater than in all terrestrial deposits,” Rogers said. PTI