IAEA 2
Objective
To have an overview of the elements of Fuel Cycle starting from Uranium mining to waste disposal*:
• Mining• Milling• Conversion• Enrichment• Fuel Fabrication• Power Generation• Spent Fuel• Reprocessing• Waste Disposal
*Note: These elements of fuel cycle will be discussed in detail in the following presentations
IAEA 3
Contents
• Energy Resources• Uranium Resources• Other Sources of Fuel• Properties of Uranium• Fuel Cycle Components
IAEA 4
Overview
• In this session we will discuss the Nuclear Fuel Cycle including:
• Mining• Milling• Conversion• Enrichment• Fuel Fabrication• Power Generation• Spent Fuel• Reprocessing• Waste Disposal
IAEA 6
ppmSource (part per million)*
Typical Uranium Concentrations
Very high-grade ore (Canada) - 20% U
200,000 ppm U
High-grade ore - 2% U, 20,000 ppm U
Low-grade ore - 0.1% U, 1,000 ppm U
Very low-grade ore* (Namibia) - 0.01% U
100 ppm U
Granite 3-5 ppm U
Sedimentary rock 2-3 ppm U
Earth's continental crust (av)2.8 ppm U
Seawater 0.003 ppm U
* Data from WNA (August 2012)http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Nuclear-Fuel-Cycle/Uranium-Resources/Supply-of-Uranium/
IAEA 7
Country tonnes percentage of world*
Australia 1,661,000 31%
Kazakhstan 629,000 12%
Russian Fed. 487,200 9%
Canada 468,700 9%
Niger 421,000 8%
South Africa 279,100 5%
Brazil 276,700 5%
Namibia 261,000 5%
USA 207,400 4%
China 166,100 3%
Ukraine 119,600 2%
Uzbekistan 96,200 2%
Others 253,500 5%
World Total 5,327,200
* Data from WNA (August 2012)
Known RecoverableUranium Resources
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Nuclear-Fuel-Cycle/Uranium-Resources/Supply-of-Uranium/
IAEA 8
Uranium Decay Chain
Primary Isotopes 238U -
alpha emitter 235U and 234U –
alpha/gamma emitters
Decay Products 231Th and 234Th -
beta/gamma emitters 234mPa -
beta/gamma emitter
IAEA 9
Decommissioned Nuclear Weapons
over 90% 235U (must be downblended for commercial fuel)
Thorium
coverts to 233U after neutron capture 3 times more abundant than uranium
Other Sources of Fuel
IAEA 10
Natural uranium consists of three isotopes:
Isotope % Abundance Half Life (106 years)
238U 99.284 4,500235U 0.711 704234U 0.005 0.245
Properties of Natural Uranium
IAEA
Uranium Properties
238U is most abundant234U increases with
enrichment
Note activity ratios
0.00010.0010.01
0.1
110
100
Nat
ural
Uranium Isotope Percent
U-238
U-235
U-234
LEU
Dep
lete
d
IAEA
Uranium Specific Activity
Type (enrichment) Specific Activity(Bq/gram)
Depleted (0.2%) 1.5 x 104
Natural (0.71%) 2.6 x 104
Enriched (4%) 8.9 x 104
Enriched (93%) 4.1 x 106
IAEA 13
Uranium Compounds
• UF6 produced at conversion plants
• U3O8 is yellowcake from milling
• UO2 is dominant fuel type (ceramic)
used to produce pellets
• UF4 is intermediate form in conversion
• Uranyl nitrate is important in recovery
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