Depleted Uranium

From TinWiki.org

After removal of the rich form or more useful form of uranium, the by-product is refered to as depleted uranium (DU).

Much controversy surrounding this by-product stems from its use by the military as projectiles. Its continued use, despite protests by the public at large, is due to the fact that it's inexpensive to produce, can penetrate both armored vehicles and re-enforced buildings, and is pyrophoric when prepared properly. In its use as a projectile, this gives penetrating and destructive qualities.
As a result of uranium enrichment, and the complexities of storage or waste management, stockpiles of this isotope have presented great concern to the continued justification of building new nuclear power plants. In 2006, the U.S. alone produced 4.41 million pounds of uranium oxide out of the 52 million pounds it used. The question of how to dispose such a large inventory that will consistenly grow each year has plaqued the nuclear industry and our environment.

1 The Erichment Process
2 Uses
- 2.1 Weapons and Armament
- 2.2 Ducrete
3 External Links

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The Erichment Process

1. Most uranium ore is removed from the earth and is processed into a uranium oxide called yellowcake or triuranium octoxide (U₃O₈).
2. This uranium oxide is then disolved in nitric acid to uranyl nitrate (UO₂(NO₃)₂) and then purified and combined with flourine gas to produce green salt or uranium tetrafluoride (UF₄). It is then further flourinated to uranium hexaflouride (UF₆). This necessary step, crucial to the enrichment process, allows the oxide when heated to becomes a gas in the diffusion process or when hydrolyzed to uranyl oxyfluoride (UO₂F₂) and then precipitated with an ammonia solution to ammonium diuranate (ADU) for the centrifuge process.
3. The enrichment process can be achieved either by diffusion through the use of a selectively permeable membrane or spinning at high speed as in a centrifuge.
4. The precipitate of these processes is then dried and calcined to an oxide state (UO₂) and formed into ceramic pellets which are shipped in metal tubes held inside assemblies 4 to 5 meters tall. They are then distributed to nuclear power stations.
5. The power plants then use these fuel assemblies to supply 16% of the world's electricity demand.

At reactor sites in the U.S., used fuel rods are stored tempoarily onsite using large steel and concrete containers or vaults with or without water. They are then transported via steel containers of heavy wall construction which are sealed and tested against damage by standard or accidental conditions. The Department of Transportation (DOT) is responsible for the safe handling and transportaion of the spent fuel from the plant to permanent storage.

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