Uranium/ special nuclear material :: essays research papers fc

SPECIAL NUCLEAR MATERIA L"especial(a) nuclear material" (SNM) is defined by Title I of the atomic Energy Act of 1954 as plutonium, uracil-233, or uranium bettered in the isotopes uranium-233 or uranium-235. In 1789, Uranium was discovered in the mineral called pitchblende, by a German chemist named Martin Klaproth. It was named later on the planet Uranus, which had been discovered eight long time earlier. Uranium-233 and plutonium are formed in nuclear reactors beca purpose they do not occur naturally. It has to be taken from highly radioactive spent sack by chemical separation. Uranium-233 can be set outd in special reactors that use thorium as fuel. Only small quantities of uranium-233 have ever been make in the linked States. No U.S. commercial plutonium reprocessing plant is before long licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for operation. Uranium amended in uranium-235 is created by an enrichment facility. The NRC regulates two gaseous dispersal e nrichment plants operated by the U.S. Enrichment Corporation. The gaseous diffusion process is the current method used by the United States to enrich uranium. There are two gaseous diffusion plants in the United States. bingle is located in Portsmouth, Ohio but was shut down in March 2001, and the other is in Paducah, Kentucky. This plant has produced enriched uranium continuously since November 1952. It is operated by the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) which was created as a government corporation down the stairs the Energy Act of 1992 and privatized by legislation in 1996 Natural uranium contains 99% U238 and only about 0.7% U235 by weight.Gaseous DiffusionThe uranium enriched in uranium-235 is required in commercial light water reactors to produce a controlled nuclear reaction. Gaseous diffusion is one way to enrich uranium. The gas separates by slowly springing through small holes. (molecular effusion) In a vessel containing a mixture of two gases, molecules of t he gas with lower molecular weight travel faster and strike the walls of the vessel more(prenominal) frequently. The walls of the vessel can be penetrated, so more of the lighter molecules flow through the barrier than the heavier molecules. The gas that escapes the vessel is enriched in the lighter isotope. One barrier isnt enough to do the job, though. It takes many hundreds of barriers, one after the other, before the UF6 gas contains enough uranium-235 to be used in reactors. At the end of the process, the enriched UF6 gas is withdrawn from the pipelines and condensed back into a liquid that is poured into containers.