ASSIGNMENT NO.
1
(Energy Environment)
Submitted By: Muhammad Ajmal Khan (16064422-010)
Submitted To: Dr.Naeem
DATE: 14-12-2017
Department of Electrical Engineering
HOW RAW URANIUM IS UTILIZEDIN NUCLEAR POWER
GENERATION
Uranium is a very heavy metal which has been used as an abundant source of concentrated
energy for 60 years.
Uranium occurs in most rocks in concentrations of 2 to 4 parts per million and is as common
in the Earth's crust as tin, tungsten and molybdenum. Uranium occurs in seawater, and can be
recovered from the oceans.
Uranium was discovered in 1789 by Martin Klaproth, a German chemist, in the mineral called
pitchblende. It was named after the planet Uranus, which had been discovered eight years
earlier.
Uranium was apparently formed in supernovas about 6.6 billion years ago. While it is not
common in the solar system, today its slow radioactive decay provides the main source of
heat inside the Earth, causing convection and continental drift.
The high density of uranium means that it also finds uses in the keels of yachts and as
counterweights for aircraft control surfaces, as well as for radiation shielding.
Uranium has a melting point of 1132°C. The chemical symbol for uranium is U.
The Uranium Atom
On a scale arranged according to the increasing mass of their nuclei, uranium is one of the heaviest
of all the naturally-occurring elements (Hydrogen is the lightest). Uranium is 18.7 times as dense as
water.
Like other elements, uranium occurs in several slightly differing forms known as 'isotopes'. These
isotopes differ from each other in the number of uncharged particles (neutrons) in the nucleus.
Natural uranium as found in the Earth's crust is a mixture largely of two isotopes: uranium-238 (U-
238), accounting for 99.3% and uranium-235 (U-235) about 0.7%.
The isotope U-235 is important because under certain conditions it can readily be split, yielding a lot
of energy. It is therefore said to be 'fissile' and we use the expression 'nuclear fission'.
Meanwhile, like all radioactive isotopes, they decay. U-238 decays very slowly, its half-life being
about the same as the age of the Earth (4500 million years). This means that it is barely radioactive,
less so than many other isotopes in rocks and sand. Nevertheless it generates 0.1 watts/tonne as
decay heat and this is enough to warm the Earth's core. U-235 decays slightly faster.
Energy from the uranium atom
The nucleus of the U-235 atom comprises 92 protons and 143 neutrons (92 + 143 = 235). When the
nucleus of a U-235 atom captures a moving neutron it splits in two (fissions) and releases some
energy in the form of heat, also two or three additional neutrons are thrown off. If enough of these
expelled neutrons cause the nuclei of other U-235 atoms to split, releasing further neutrons, a fission
'chain reaction' can be achieved. When this happens over and over again, many millions of times, a
very large amount of heat is produced from a relatively small amount of uranium.
How uranium ore is made into nuclear fuel
Uranium is a naturally-occurring element in the Earth's crust. Traces of it occur almost everywhere,
although mining takes place in locations where it is naturally concentrated. To make nuclear fuel from
the uranium ore requires first for the uranium to be extracted from the rock in which it is found, then
enriched in the uranium-235 isotope, before being made into pellets that are loaded into assemblies
of nuclear fuel rods.
Mining
Uranium mines operate in some twenty countries, though about half of world production comes from
just ten mines in six countries, in Canada, Australia, Niger, Kazakhstan, Russia and Namibia.
At conventional mines, the ore goes through a mill where it is first crushed. It is then ground in water
to produce a slurry of fine ore particles suspended in the water. The slurry is leached with sulphuric
acid to dissolve the uranium oxides, leaving the remaining rock and other minerals undissolved, as
mine tailings.
However, nearly half the world's mines now use a mining method called in situ leaching . This means
that the mining is accomplished without any major ground disturbance. Groundwater with a lot of
oxygen injected into it is circulated through the uranium ore, extracting the uranium. The solution with
dissolved uranium is pumped to the surface.
Both mining methods produce a liquid with uranium dissolved in it. This is filtered and the uranium
then separated by ion exchange, precipitated from the solution, filtered and dried to produce a
uranium oxide concentrate, which is then sealed in drums. This concentrate may be a bright yellow
colour, hence known as 'yellowcake', or if dried at high temperatures it is khaki.
The uranium oxide is only mildly radioactive. (The radiation level one meter from a drum of freshly-
processed uranium oxide about half that - experienced from cosmic rays - on a commercial jet flight.)
Yellowcake in a drum for storage or transport (Cameco)
Enrichment
The vast majority of all nuclear power reactors require 'enriched' uranium fuel in which the proportion
of the uranium-235 isotope has been raised from the natural level of 0.7% to about 3.5% to 5%. The
enrichment process needs to have the uranium in gaseous form, so on the way from the mine it goes
through a conversion plant which turns the uranium oxide into uranium hexafluoride.
The enrichment plant concentrates the useful uranium-235, leaving about 85% of the uranium by
separating gaseous uranium hexafluoride into two streams: One stream is enriched to the required
level of uranium-235 and then passes to the next stage of the fuel cycle. The other stream is depleted
in uranium-235 and is called 'tails' or depleted uranium. It is mostly uranium-238 and has little
immediate use.
Today's enrichment plants use the centrifuge process, with thousands of rapidly-spinning vertical
tubes. Research is being conducted into laser enrichment, which appears to be a promising new
technology.
A small number of reactors, notably the Canadian CANDU reactors, do not require uranium to be
enriched.
Fuel fabrication
About 27 tonnes of fresh fuel is required each year by a 1000 MWe nuclear reactor. In contrast, a
coal power station requires more than two and a half million tonnes of coal to produce as much
electricity. (1)Enriched UF6 is transported to a fuel fabrication plant where it is converted to uranium
dioxide powder. This powder is then pressed to form small fuel pellets, which are then heated to
make a hard ceramic material. The pellets are then inserted into thin tubes to form fuel rods. These
fuel rods are then grouped together to form fuel assemblies, which are several meters long.
Uranium dioxide in powder and pellet form (Candu)
The number of fuel rods used to make each fuel assembly depends on the type of reactor. A
pressurized water reactor may use between 121-193 fuel assemblies, each consisting of between
179-264 fuel rods. A boiling water reactor has between 91-96 fuel rods per assembly, with between
350-800 fuel assemblies per reactor.
Stages of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle
The nuclear fuel cycle represents the progression of nuclear fuel from creation to disposal. In the
United States, uranium is processed in different chemical and physical forms to create nuclear fuel.
Mixed oxide is another type of nuclear fuel. As illustrated below, the nuclear fuel cycle typically
includes the following stages:
Uranium recovery to extract (or mine) uranium ore, and concentrate (or mill) the ore to produce a
uranium ore concentrate, sometimes called U3O8 or "yellowcake"
Conversion of uranium ore concentrate into uranium hexafluoride (UF6)
Enrichment to increase the concentration of uranium-235 (U235) in UF6
DE conversion to reduce the hazards associated with the depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6), or
"tailings," produced in earlier stages of the fuel cycle
Fuel fabrication to convert natural and enriched UF6 into UO2 or uranium metal alloys for use as fuel
for nuclear reactors. This step also includes mixed oxide fuel fabrication.
Use of the fuel in reactors (nuclear power, research, or naval propulsion)
Interim storage of spent nuclear fuel
Reprocessing (or recycling) of high-level waste (currently not done commercially in the U.S.)[1]
Final disposition (disposal) of used fuel or high-level waste
