Enriched uranium - Methods

Enriched uranium is uranium whose uranium-235 content has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Natural uranium consists mostly of the 238U isotope, with about 0.7 percent by weight as 235U, the only isotope existing in nature in any appreciable amount that is fissionable by thermal neutrons. The ability to enrich uranium is one of the key factors in nuclear weapons proliferation. During the Manhattan Project enriched uranium was given the codename oralloy, a shortened ver ...

Including:

• Enriched uranium - Grades
• Enriched uranium - Highly enriched uranium HEU
• Enriched uranium - Low-enriched uranium LEU
• Enriched uranium - Slightly enriched uranium SEU
• Enriched uranium - Methods
• Enriched uranium - Thermal Diffusion
• Enriched uranium - Gaseous diffusion
• Enriched uranium - The Gas centrifuge
• Enriched uranium - The Zippe centrifuge
• Enriched uranium - Aerodynamic Processes
• Enriched uranium - Electromagnetic Isotope Separation
• Enriched uranium - Laser processes
• Enriched uranium - Chemical methods
• Enriched uranium - Plasma separation
• Enriched uranium - The SWU separative work unit
• Enriched uranium - Downblending

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Isotope separation is a difficult and energy intensive activity. Enriching uranium is difficult because the two isotopes are very similar in weight: 235U is only 1.26% lighter than 238U. Several production techniques applied to enrichment have been used, and several are under investigation. In general these methods exploit the slight differences in atomic weights of the various isotopes. Some work is being done that would use nuclear resonance however it is not certain if any of these ...

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Enriched uranium, Enriched uranium - Grades, Enriched uranium - Highly enriched uranium HEU, Enriched uranium - Low-enriched uranium LEU, Enriched uranium - Slightly enriched uranium SEU, Enriched uranium - Methods, Enriched uranium - Thermal Diffusion, Enriched uranium - Gaseous diffusion, Enriched uranium - The Gas centrifuge, Enriched uranium - The Zippe centrifuge, Enriched uranium - Aerodynamic Processes, Enriched uranium - Electromagnetic Isotope Separation, Enriched uranium - Laser processes, Enriched uranium - Chemical methods, Enriched uranium - Plasma separation, Enriched uranium - The SWU separative work unit, Enriched uranium - Downblending

Read more here: » Enriched uranium: Encyclopedia II - Enriched uranium - Methods

The opposite of enriching is downblending; Surplus HEU can be downblended to LEU to make it suitable for use in commercial nuclear fuel. The HEU feedstock, can contain unwanted uranium isotopes: 234U is a minor isotope contained in natural uranium; during the enrichment process, its concentration increases even more than that of 235U. High concentrations of 234U may cause excessive worker radiation exposures during fuel fabrication; 236U is a byproduct from irradiation in a reactor an ...

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Enriched uranium, Enriched uranium - Grades, Enriched uranium - Highly enriched uranium HEU, Enriched uranium - Low-enriched uranium LEU, Enriched uranium - Slightly enriched uranium SEU, Enriched uranium - Methods, Enriched uranium - Thermal Diffusion, Enriched uranium - Gaseous diffusion, Enriched uranium - The Gas centrifuge, Enriched uranium - The Zippe centrifuge, Enriched uranium - Aerodynamic Processes, Enriched uranium - Electromagnetic Isotope Separation, Enriched uranium - Laser processes, Enriched uranium - Chemical methods, Enriched uranium - Plasma separation, Enriched uranium - The SWU separative work unit, Enriched uranium - Downblending

Read more here: » Enriched uranium: Encyclopedia II - Enriched uranium - Downblending

Separative Work Unit (SWU) is a complex unit which is a function of the amount of uranium processed and the degree to which it is enriched, ie the extent of increase in the concentration of the 235U isotope relative to the remainder. Separative work is expressed in SWUs, kg SW, or kg UTA (from the German Urantrennarbeit ) 1 SWU = 1 kg SW = 1 kg UTA 1 ...

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Enriched uranium, Enriched uranium - Grades, Enriched uranium - Highly enriched uranium HEU, Enriched uranium - Low-enriched uranium LEU, Enriched uranium - Slightly enriched uranium SEU, Enriched uranium - Methods, Enriched uranium - Thermal Diffusion, Enriched uranium - Gaseous diffusion, Enriched uranium - The Gas centrifuge, Enriched uranium - The Zippe centrifuge, Enriched uranium - Aerodynamic Processes, Enriched uranium - Electromagnetic Isotope Separation, Enriched uranium - Laser processes, Enriched uranium - Chemical methods, Enriched uranium - Plasma separation, Enriched uranium - The SWU separative work unit, Enriched uranium - Downblending

Read more here: » Enriched uranium: Encyclopedia II - Enriched uranium - The SWU separative work unit

Enriched uranium - Highly enriched uranium HEU. Highly enriched uranium (HEU) has a greater than 20% concentration of 235U. The fissile uranium in nuclear weapons usually contains 85% or more of 235U known as weapon(s)-grade, though for a crude inefficient weapon 20% is sufficient (called weapon(s)-usable); some argue that even less is sufficient, but then the critical mass required rapidly increases. The presence of too much of the 238U isotope inhibits the runaway nuclear chain reaction ...

See also:

Enriched uranium, Enriched uranium - Grades, Enriched uranium - Highly enriched uranium HEU, Enriched uranium - Low-enriched uranium LEU, Enriched uranium - Slightly enriched uranium SEU, Enriched uranium - Methods, Enriched uranium - Thermal Diffusion, Enriched uranium - Gaseous diffusion, Enriched uranium - The Gas centrifuge, Enriched uranium - The Zippe centrifuge, Enriched uranium - Aerodynamic Processes, Enriched uranium - Electromagnetic Isotope Separation, Enriched uranium - Laser processes, Enriched uranium - Chemical methods, Enriched uranium - Plasma separation, Enriched uranium - The SWU separative work unit, Enriched uranium - Downblending

Read more here: » Enriched uranium: Encyclopedia II - Enriched uranium - Grades