Scientists from the University of Sussex (UK) have found that nuclear waste can be used as energy sources with a high degree of efficiency and safety, Planet-today reported.

It is possible to reuse the remaining radioactive depleted uranium after nuclear processes, the source noted adding that as the rule these wastes are not disposed of in any way.

And since they pose an extreme danger to human health and the environment, they are placed in special isolated rooms for long-term storage. Also, some of them are used for the production of armor-piercing missiles.

British chemists, along with their colleagues from France and Germany, found that an organometallic molecule based on depleted uranium affects the attachment of hydrogen atoms to a carbon double bond in ethylene, which is necessary to create ethane. By creating a catalyst capable of converting ethylene to ethane, scientists were thus able to launch important chemical reactions that underlie the production of valuable substances from simple substances. Theseinclude hydrogenated oils and petrochemical products, which in the future can be used as effective energy sources.

According to experts, such a discovery will not only provide additional energy, but also significantly reduce the number of constantly increasing deposits of radioactive waste.