Published 1975 | Version v1
Journal article Metadata-only

Nuclear fuel cycle techniques

Creators

  • 1. CEA, 75 - Paris (France)
  • 2. CEA Direction des Productions, 92 - Chatillon (France)

Description

The production of fuels for nuclear power plants involves five principal stages: prospecting of uranium deposits (on the ground, aerial, geochemical, geophysical, etc...); extraction and production of natural uranium from the deposits (U content of ores is not generally high and a chemical processing is necessary to obtain U concentrates); production of 235U enriched uranium for plants utilizing this type of fuel (a description is given of the gaseous diffusion process widely used throughout the world and particularly in France); manufacture of suitable fuel elements for the different plants; reprocessing of spent fuels for the purpose of not only recovering the fissile materials but also disposing safely of the fission products and other wastes

Abstract (French)

On peut distinguer dans l'elaboration des combustibles destines aux centrales electronucleaires cinq phases principales: la recherche des gisements d'uranium (prospection au sol, aerienne, geochimique, geophysique, etc...); l'extraction et la production de l'uranium naturel a partir de ces gisements (la teneur des minerais est en general faible et necessite leur traitement physicochimique et leur concentration sur les lieux memes du gisement); l'enrichissement d'une partie de cet uranium en U235 pour les centrales qui utilisent ce type de combustible (le procede de diffusion gazeuse, largement utilise dans le monde et notamment en France est presente); la fabrication des elements combustibles adaptes aux differentes centrales; le retraitement des combustibles irradies, qui permet non seulement de recuperer les matieres fissibles mais aussi de mettre en lieu sur les produits de fission et autres dechets

Additional details

Additional titles

Original title (French)
Les techniques du cycle du combustible nucleaire

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Entropie
Journal Volume
11
Journal Issue
63
Series
Entropie.
Journal Page Range
18-27

INIS

Country of Publication
France
Country of Input or Organization
France
INIS RN
7237574
Subject category
S22: GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS; S11: NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS; S58: GEOSCIENCES;
Descriptors DEI
FABRICATION; FUEL CYCLE; FUEL ELEMENTS; GASEOUS DIFFUSION PROCESS; ORE PROCESSING; PROSPECTING; REPROCESSING
Descriptors DEC
ISOTOPE SEPARATION; REACTOR COMPONENTS; SEPARATION PROCESSES