June 21, 2022

Pure vs. Enriched Uranium: Everything You Need to Know

Uranium, a radioactive element, is the key fuel for commercial nuclear reactors, which generate around 11% of the world’s electricity. In this blog post, we will explore what makes uranium unique and how it has changed the world.

Pure vs. Enriched Uranium: Everything You Need to Know

The Discovery of Uranium

Uranium was first discovered in the year 1789 by Martin Klaproth in Germany, who discovered a radioactive metal by heating pitchblende. Pitchblende, a black ore that was typically discarded by miners, was later found to contain various minerals, the most important of which were pitchblende, uranite, and torbernite. The pitchblende was named after a pitch-like smell that it gave off when heated, which in turn came from the German word “pitchblende.”

Uranium and its compounds were used by many cultures as a health tonic or a cure for cancer, and this is an example of how the element was used before the discovery of radioactivity. The first sample of uranium metal was produced in 1841 by H.E. Richter. In 1896, Marie Curie and her husband Pierre discovered the uranium-radium decay chain, which was the first documentation of the existence of an entire set of new elements.

How Is Uranium Used for Power?

Uranium is a possibility for a sustainable power source as it has an abundance of natural deposits. The two types of uranium used for power generation are raw uranium and uranium oxide, also known as yellowcake. The only processes that produce pure, enriched uranium are the enrichment of uranium and the conversion of uranium tetrafluoride to uranium hexafluoride.

Enriching Uranium

There are two methods of enriching uranium, the gaseous diffusion method, and the gas centrifuge method. The gaseous diffusion method was used before the enrichment of uranium became big, and this method is still used today in smaller facilities. The gaseous diffusion method uses gas centrifuges which come in two forms, the single centrifuge (SC) and the multiple centrifuges (MC).

The Importance of Enriched Uranium

Enriched uranium is important as it can be used to produce fuel for commercial nuclear reactors, or it can be converted into a material that can produce weapons-grade nuclear weapons. This is why there is a lot of scrutiny when it comes to enrichment facilities.

The Future of Uranium Power

The future of nuclear power generation is still up in the air; some say that the growing dependence on fossil fuels, particularly those that are non-renewable, will make the demand for nuclear energy rise, while others say that the lack of finding a way to incorporate the costs of nuclear waste and power into the market will make nuclear energy hard to maintain. Regardless of whether or not nuclear energy will be the world’s main energy source in the future, there will still be a need for enriched uranium for other uses, for example, for powering satellites.

Conclusion

As uranium is a naturally occurring element, it is plentiful and fairly easy to find. Thanks to the tireless efforts of people like Marie Curie, we have been able to learn more about uranium, which in turn has allowed us to use the element for all of the wonderful things we use it for today.

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