Uranium-233 purification and conversion to stabilized ceramic grade urania for LWBR fuel fabrication (LWBR Development Program)

doi:https://doi.org/10.2172/6710867

Title: Uranium-233 purification and conversion to stabilized ceramic grade urania for LWBR fuel fabrication (LWBR Development Program)

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Abstract

High purity ceramic grade urania (/sup 233/UO/sub 2/) used in manufacturing the fuel for the Light Water Breeder Reactor (LWBR) core was made from uranium-233 that was obtained by irradiating thoria under special conditions to result in not more than 10 ppM of uranium-232 in the recovered uranium-233 product. A developmental study established the operating parameters of the conversion process for transforming the uranium-233 into urania powder with the appropriate chemical and physical attributes for use in fabricating the LWBR core fuel. This developmental study included the following: (a) design of an ion exchange purification process for removing the gamma-emitting alpha-decay daughters of uranium-232, to reduce the gamma-radiation field of the uranium-233 during LWBR fuel manufacture; (b) definition of the parameters for precipitating the uranium-233 as ammonium uranate (ADU) and for reducing the ADU with hydrogen to yield a urania conversion product of the proper particle size, surface area and sinterability for use in manufacturing the LWBR fuel; (c) establishment of parameters and design of equipment for stabilizing the urania conversion product to prevent it from undergoing excessive oxidation on exposure to the air during LWBR fuel manufacturing operations; and (d) development of a procedure and a facility to reprocessmore »« less

Authors:: Lloyd, R.

Publication Date:: 1980-10-01

Research Org.:: Bettis Atomic Power Lab., West Mifflin, PA (USA)

OSTI Identifier:: 6710867

Report Number(s):: WAPD-TM-1422
TRN: 81-002957

DOE Contract Number:: AC11-76PN00014

Resource Type:: Technical Report

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS; 11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS; LWBR TYPE REACTORS; NUCLEAR FUELS; ALPHA DECAY; AMMONIUM URANATES; PRECIPITATION; REACTOR CORES; REMOVAL; URANIUM 232; URANIUM 233; URANIUM DIOXIDE; ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS; ACTINIDE ISOTOPES; ACTINIDE NUCLEI; ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES; AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS; BREEDER REACTORS; CHALCOGENIDES; DECAY; ENERGY SOURCES; EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI; EVEN-ODD NUCLEI; FUELS; HEAVY NUCLEI; ISOTOPES; MATERIALS; NUCLEI; OXIDES; OXYGEN COMPOUNDS; RADIOISOTOPES; REACTOR COMPONENTS; REACTOR MATERIALS; REACTORS; SEPARATION PROCESSES; THERMAL REACTORS; URANATES; URANIUM COMPOUNDS; URANIUM ISOTOPES; URANIUM OXIDES; WATER COOLED REACTORS; WATER MODERATED REACTORS; YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES; 210500* - Power Reactors, Breeding; 050700 - Nuclear Fuels- Fuels Production & Properties

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                    Lloyd, R. Uranium-233 purification and conversion to stabilized ceramic grade urania for LWBR fuel fabrication (LWBR Development Program).  United States: N. p., 1980. 
        Web.  doi:10.2172/6710867.

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                    Lloyd, R. Uranium-233 purification and conversion to stabilized ceramic grade urania for LWBR fuel fabrication (LWBR Development Program).  United States.  https://doi.org/10.2172/6710867

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                    Lloyd, R. Wed .  
        "Uranium-233 purification and conversion to stabilized ceramic grade urania for LWBR fuel fabrication (LWBR Development Program)".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.2172/6710867.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/6710867.

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@article{osti_6710867,

  title        = {Uranium-233 purification and conversion to stabilized ceramic grade urania for LWBR fuel fabrication (LWBR Development Program)},

  author       = {Lloyd, R.},

  abstractNote = {High purity ceramic grade urania (/sup 233/UO/sub 2/) used in manufacturing the fuel for the Light Water Breeder Reactor (LWBR) core was made from uranium-233 that was obtained by irradiating thoria under special conditions to result in not more than 10 ppM of uranium-232 in the recovered uranium-233 product. A developmental study established the operating parameters of the conversion process for transforming the uranium-233 into urania powder with the appropriate chemical and physical attributes for use in fabricating the LWBR core fuel. This developmental study included the following: (a) design of an ion exchange purification process for removing the gamma-emitting alpha-decay daughters of uranium-232, to reduce the gamma-radiation field of the uranium-233 during LWBR fuel manufacture; (b) definition of the parameters for precipitating the uranium-233 as ammonium uranate (ADU) and for reducing the ADU with hydrogen to yield a urania conversion product of the proper particle size, surface area and sinterability for use in manufacturing the LWBR fuel; (c) establishment of parameters and design of equipment for stabilizing the urania conversion product to prevent it from undergoing excessive oxidation on exposure to the air during LWBR fuel manufacturing operations; and (d) development of a procedure and a facility to reprocess the unirradiated thoria-urania fuel scrap from the LWBR core manufacturing operations to recover the uranium-233 and convert it into high purity ceramic grade urania for LWBR core fabrication.},

  doi          = {10.2172/6710867},

  url          = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6710867},
  journal      = {},
number       = ,

  volume       = ,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {1980},

  month        = {10}

}

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