Uranium separation work

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The uranium separation work (UTA) is a term that is used in uranium enrichment and describes the effort required to separate uranium isotopes .

It depends on

  • the amount of uranium that goes through the process for the purpose of enrichment,
  • the degree of enrichment of the desired product and
  • the degree of depletion of the remaining uranium (the so-called tails ).

Since there is no directly measurable quantity for the separation work, a formula had to be developed with which one can calculate a value from the parameters throughput rate, degree of enrichment and degree of depletion , which is proportional to the technical and energetic effort involved in isotope separation .

In simple terms, one can say that the uranium separation work is greater, the more uranium is penetrated and the more complete the separation between the heavier and lighter isotopes takes place, i. H. the higher the degree of enrichment and the lower the degree of depletion is selected.

The uranium separation work has the dimension of a mass . The unit is defined as “kg UTA”, whereby the addition UTA has become common in German-speaking countries to differentiate between real masses. 1000 kg UTA are also referred to as 1 t UTA. The term “Separative Work Unit” (SWU) is common in English. The following applies: 1 SWU = 1 kg UTA.

Examples

In order to produce 1 kg of enriched uranium, depending on the selected degree of depletion (proportion of the isotope 235 U in the tail ), the following uranium separation work is required:

  • With an enrichment level of 3% (proportion of the isotope 235 U in the product):
    • at 0.01% depletion: 12.39 kg UTA
    • at 0.05% degree of depletion: 7.727 kg UTA
    • at 0.10% depletion: 5.905 kg UTA
    • at 0.15% degree of depletion: 4.915 kg UTA
    • at 0.20% degree of depletion: 4.253 kg UTA
    • at 0.25% degree of depletion: 3.765 kg UTA
    • at 0.30% degree of depletion: 3.383 kg UTA
    • at 0.71% degree of depletion: 1.781 kg UTA
  • With an enrichment level of 20% (proportion of the isotope 235 U in the product):
    • at 0.01% depletion: 114.18 kg UTA
    • at 0.05% degree of depletion: 74.74 kg UTA
    • at 0.10% degree of depletion: 59.33 kg UTA
    • at 0.15% degree of depletion: 50.97 kg UTA
    • at 0.20% degree of depletion: 45.37 kg UTA
    • at 0.25% degree of depletion: 41.24 kg UTA
    • at 0.30% degree of depletion: 38.01 kg UTA
    • at 0.71% degree of depletion: 24.46 kg UTA
  • With an enrichment level of 85% (proportion of the isotope 235 U in the product):
    • at 0.01% degree of depletion: 513.1 kg UTA
    • at 0.05% degree of depletion: 340.7 kg UTA
    • at 0.10% degree of depletion: 273.3 kg UTA
    • at 0.15% degree of depletion: 236.7 kg UTA
    • at 0.20% degree of depletion: 212.3 kg UTA
    • at 0.25% degree of depletion: 194.2 kg UTA
    • at 0.30% degree of depletion: 180.1 kg UTA
    • at 0.71% degree of depletion: 120.9 kg UTA

With the same degree of enrichment, the less 235 U there is to be in the depleted uranium, the greater the effort .

Around 100-200 t UTA are required to cover the annual enrichment requirement for a typical light water reactor with 1000 MW electrical output. Large uranium enrichment plants have capacities of several thousand tons of UTA per year. For the only enrichment plant in operation in Germany, Gronau , an application was made to expand the capacity to 4,500 t UTA / a and was approved in 2005.