The seperation of Uranium

1. Mining and milling Uranium is usually mined by either surface (open cut) or underground mining techniques, depending on the depth at which the ore body is found. The mined uranium ore is sent to a mill which is usually located close to the mine. At the mill the ore is crushed and ground to a fine slurry which is leached in sulfuric acid: UO3 + 2H+ ====> UO22+ + H2O UO22+ + 3SO42- ====> …

…made into fuel pellets which are sintered and assembled into fuel rods. 8. Vitrification After reprocessing the liquid high-level waste can be calcined to produce a dry powder which is incorporated into borosilicate (Pyrex) glass to immobilise the waste. The glass is then poured into stainless steel canisters, each holding 400 kg of glass. A year's waste from a 1000 MWe reactor is contained in 5 tonnes of such glass, or about 12 canisters 1.3 metres high and 0.4 metres in diameter.