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A PILOT PLANT FOR THE REDUCTION OF URANIUM HEXAFLUORIDE TO URANIUM TETRAFLUORIDE WITH TRICHLOROETHYLENE

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/4843647· OSTI ID:4843647
Pilot plant experiments are described in which trichloroethylene was used for the reduction of uranium hexafluoride to uranium tetrafluoride. After unsatisfactory preliminary results with liquid phase reduction, satisfactory results were obtained with a vapor phase reduction system. It was found that vapor phase reduction at approximately 450 deg F, produced a low density product which contained only small quantities of uranium(VI); sintering the uranium tetrafluoride in a hydrogen fluoride atmosphere increased the product density to approximately 3 g/cc. The reduction was essentially complete, and the effluent gas contained less than 1 ppm of uranium hexafluoride. The purity of the uranium tetrafluoride produced was equivalent to that of the uranium hexafluoride used as feed. A complete discussion is given of the operation of the various parts of the system. (auth)
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Tenn.
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-26
NSA Number:
NSA-15-027686
OSTI ID:
4843647
Report Number(s):
K-1271(Del.)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English