| ar power as a sustainable, environmentally-sound | | | | The depleted UF6 tails mentioned in step 5 above |
| source of electricity is enjoying a comeback in | | | | have historically been stored in large steel |
| terms of public opinion, but it still faces public and | | | | cylinders and ignored for years, or even decades. |
| environmental challenges. On the one hand, the | | | | In the U.S. alone, there is already in excess of 1.6 |
| near zero-carbon emissions characteristic of | | | | billion pounds of stored depleted UF6 stored in |
| nuclear power plants is attractive to industry and | | | | enough cylinders that if you were to line them up |
| environmentalists alike. On the other hand, | | | | end-to-end they would stretch for more than 130 |
| concerns remain about potentially-harmful | | | | miles. |
| environmental effects of the uranium-based fuels | | | | At the present time, a vast amount of the |
| that make it possible. | | | | enriched uranium required to fuel the existing U.S. |
| Nearly all of the concern with nuclear power has | | | | nuclear reactors actually is imported from |
| focused upon the back end of the fuel cycle, | | | | overseas. There is, however, a significant shift in |
| namely the storage and disposal of spent fuel as | | | | effect towards domestic commercial uranium |
| high-level waste. While spent fuel has been the | | | | enrichment. Therefore, the proper management |
| major focus issue surrounding nuclear power, | | | | and storage of these domestically-produced |
| there is actually another disposal issue at the front | | | | depleted UF6 tails will become an important issue |
| end of the fuel cycle: that of dealing with the | | | | confronting the nuclear industry. |
| large quantities of depleted uranium hexafluoride, | | | | Direct Disposal of Depleted Tails is Not Acceptable |
| which is a by-product of the uranium enrichment | | | | Depleted UF6 is a chemical form of uranium that |
| process. | | | | cannot be directly disposed because it is |
| Since the beginning of the nuclear power era | | | | chemically reactive. Therefore, in order to dispose |
| approximately 60 years ago, there has never | | | | of depleted UF6, some or all of the fluorine must |
| been an economical solution for the management | | | | be removed in a de-conversion process. This |
| of the large quantities of these depleted UF6 tails. | | | | de-conversion process changes the uranium to a |
| And yet, an anticipated shift in the near future | | | | non-reactive (or less-reactive) oxide state. In this |
| from foreign to domestic enrichment of uranium | | | | new granular or powder, solid state, the depleted |
| will result in a significant increase in depleted UF6 | | | | uranium can be disposed in approved and licensed |
| tails produced in the U.S.. | | | | low-level radioactive waste landfills. |
| A new commercial concept for an environmentally | | | | Historically, there has been little or no economic |
| friendly de-conversion process is currently being | | | | incentive for de-conversion since the fluorine has |
| advanced. The process design extracts high purity | | | | effectively been wasted. However, the anticipated |
| fluoride from the depleted tails using their | | | | dramatic growth in U.S. commercial enrichment |
| patented process. This process is | | | | creates a need to address the management of |
| environmentally-friendly, energy saving, and it | | | | depleted UF6 produced from commercial |
| allows new and useful products to be created as | | | | enrichment companies and the new de-conversion |
| a result. | | | | process can extract value. |
| A Brief Overview of Nuclear Fuel Cycle | | | | A Green De-Conversion Solution for the Nuclear |
| To understand the meaning of | | | | Fuel Cycle Industry |
| “depleted” uranium and | | | | The de-conversion process design is both |
| de-conversion, it is useful to have an overview of | | | | environmentally-friendly and economically-valuable. |
| the nuclear fuel cycle. | | | | The process utilizes a proprietary Fluorine |
| A form of uranium, enriched in the U235 isotope, | | | | Extraction Process (FEP) to produce high-purity |
| is used as fuel in nuclear reactors. In order to use | | | | fluoride gas. FEP can be used to produce a variety |
| uranium as a nuclear fuel, it must first be | | | | of economically-viable pure fluoride gases. |
| enriched, as follows: | | | | There are several aspects of this new depleted |
| 1. Uranium that is mined from the earth is | | | | uranium de-conversion process that clearly |
| converted into uranium oxide or “yellow | | | | demonstrate its role as a “green |
| cake.” | | | | solution” for the front end of the nuclear |
| 2. The yellow cake is converted to UF6 gas | | | | fuel cycle. |
| through a multi-step chemical process using | | | | First, de-conversion itself is effectively a recycling |
| various chemicals, including fluorine. In the process, | | | | process in which valuable fluoride material is |
| the uranium is converted into UF6 gas. | | | | recovered from the depleted uranium. |
| 3. The UF6 gas is passed through a enrichment | | | | Second, some of the products produced by |
| process at an enrichment facility. In the | | | | fluorine extraction are used in manufacturing thin |
| enrichment process, the U235 atoms present in | | | | films and photovoltaic (PV) materials for solar |
| the UF6 gas are enriched significantly from their | | | | applications. |
| naturally-occurring levels. | | | | Third, producing fluoride products using FEP will |
| 4. The enriched UF6 is then processed into | | | | save millions of pounds of CO2 emissions because |
| uranium oxide and fabricated into nuclear fuel. | | | | of the energy efficiency of this process |
| 5. However, about 90% of the UF6 emerges | | | | compared to conventional production methods. |
| from the enrichment process as depleted UF6, or | | | | As the nuclear fuel enrichment process |
| “tails,” in which the concentration | | | | increasingly takes place on U.S. soil, the Fluorine |
| of the U235 atom has been greatly reduced to | | | | Extraction Process will offer a solution which is |
| the level that is not economically or feasibly useful | | | | both environmentally-friendly and |
| for further enrichment to reactor fuel. | | | | economically-valuable. |