How Uranium Fuels Nuclear Power Plants and Bombs

Why is uranium such a potent material?

The history of uranium is intriguing and has a huge impact on many industries. Uranium was called after the planet Uranus, which had only recently been discovered, after it was found in 1789 by German chemist Martin Klaproth.

This heavy, silvery-white metal is well-known for its radioactive qualities and for being widely distributed in the crust of the Earth. It is believed to have been created in supernovae some 6.6 billion years ago, and its slow radioactive decay, which results in convection and even continental drift, is the primary source of heat inside the Earth.

Like other elements, uranium can be found in a number of isotopes that differ somewhat from one another based on how many neutrons they contain in their nucleus. Uranium-238 (U-238) and uranium-235 (U-235) are two of the isotopes that make up natural uranium ore. The latter isotope, U-235, is the one that is most crucial for nuclear energy, but it only makes up approximately 0.7 percent of natural uranium, whereas U-238 makes up around 99.3 percent.

Due to the fact that U-235 is a fissile element that can sustain a nuclear chain reaction, it is crucial. This is done through "fission," the process of "splitting the atom," in which a nucleus is attacked by neutrons, causing it to divide into two or more smaller nuclei. This split releases a tremendous amount of heat-based energy. When U-235 splits apart, the extra neutrons released by the split nucleus trigger more fission processes (the chain reaction), which release more energy.

This energy keeps nuclear reactors operating, where the heat is converted to steam that powers turbines and generators to produce electricity. However, nuclear bombs explode due to the same reaction. Explosions and energy generation have similar concepts, although they produce radically distinct results.

In a nuclear reactor, uranium fuel rods and additional rods known as "nuclear poison" are put together in the core. Nuclear poison absorbs neutrons to control fission processes. To adjust the reactor's power output, these control rods can be inserted and removed. The fuel is prepared in such a way that in the event of a critical event in the reactor, the core may overheat and melt but cannot explode.

How nuclear energy is created using uranium?

Before uranium can be loaded as fuel, it must undergo a number of industrial operations. After it has been used up, additional measures are then performed to either dispose of it or recycle the fuel. The nuclear fuel cycle is the collective name for all of these phases. The first step in the nuclear fuel cycle is uranium mining and milling, which involves removing uranium ore from the Earth's crust and processing it to create uranium concentrate, also referred to as yellowcake. The yellowcake is then transformed into a form that can be enhanced.

Since uranium ore contains very little U-235, as was already mentioned, enrichment is utilized to boost levels of this essential isotope. This is accomplished using a variety of methods, but frequently by using centrifuges to separate U-235 from U-238 due to their different masses.

The enriched material is put via fuel fabrication, where it is formed into pellets and covered in metal to make fuel rods, once there is enough U-235 stockpiled. After that, these rods are put together into fuel assemblies to be used in reactors. The beginning of the nuclear fuel cycle is explained by this.

Following depletion and the fuel's inability to support nuclear chain reactions, it must be maintained in a certain manner. Carefully removing the used fuel assemblies from the core, they are then placed in storage. At some point, the spent fuel will go through reprocessing, when any recyclable components are removed for additional use. The purpose of this phase is to recover valuable materials, including any U-235 that may still be present as well as freshly generated plutonium that can be used as reactor fuel.

The process of reprocessing normally entails a number of processes, including as dissolution, separation, purification, and construction of the recovered elements into new fuel assemblies. By recycling nuclear fuel and using it more effectively, this procedure minimizes waste while boosting the energy potential of nuclear resources. Reprocessing does, however, also come with costs, risks of proliferation, and waste management issues that need for careful thought and strict regulatory requirements.

Only countries who are signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) are permitted to import uranium or plutonium due to the fact that nuclear fuel can be used to make nuclear weapons. The agreement guards against the proliferation of WMDs and promotes the safe use of nuclear energy and technology.