Uranium enrichment by chemical exchange

This article presents the new French process for enriching uranium by chemical methods, the development of which was announced at the international conference on the Fuel Cycle, in Salzburg in May 1977. After a brief summary of the necessity for using nuclear energy, the importance of the fuel cycle, and the position of uranium enrichment in this cycle, the situation in the enrichment market is described together with the various enriching processes which are being or can soon be developed industrially on a large scale. A more detailed description is given of the principle of chemical exchange processes. A few important features of the French process from the economical or political aspect are then explained, in particular its non-proliferating nature