Chemistry: electrical and wave energy – Processes and products – Processes of treating materials by wave energy
Patent
1993-06-02
1995-05-30
Walsh, Donald P.
Chemistry: electrical and wave energy
Processes and products
Processes of treating materials by wave energy
2041572, 20415721, 423DIG7, B01D 500
Patent
active
054198208
ABSTRACT:
An uranium enrichment process capable of producing an enriched uranium, having a .sup.235 U content greater than about 4 wt. %, is disclosed which will consume less energy and produce metallic uranium tails having a lower .sup.235 U content than the tails normally produced in a gaseous diffusion separation process and, therefore, eliminate UF.sub.6 tails storage and sharply reduce fluorine use. The uranium enrichment process comprises feeding metallic uranium into an atomic vapor laser isotope separation process to produce an enriched metallic uranium isotopic mixture having a .sup.235 U content of at least about 2 wt. % and a metallic uranium residue containing from about 0.1 wt. % to about 0.2 wt. % .sup.235 U; fluorinating this enriched metallic uranium isotopic mixture to form UF.sub.6 ; processing the resultant isotopic mixture of UF.sub.6 in a gaseous diffusion process to produce a final enriched uranium product having a .sup.235 U content of at least 4 wt. %, and up to 93.5 wt. % or higher, of the total uranium content of the product, and a low .sup.235 U content UF.sub.6 having a .sup.235 U content of about 0.71 wt. % of the total uranium content of the low .sup.235 U content UF.sub.6 ; and converting this low .sup.235 U content UF.sub.6 to metallic uranium for recycle to the atomic vapor laser isotope separation process.
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Hayden, Jr. Howard W.
Horton James A.
Gaither Roger S.
Mai Ngoclan T.
Moser William R.
The United States of America as represented by the United States
Valdes Miguel A.
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