IAEA-CN-114/48p
The nuclear fuel cycle in russia. State and prospects
V.M.Lebedev
The State Central Institute for Continuing Education and Training, Obninsk, Russia
Abstract. The paper looks at prerequisites for the nuclear fuel cycle, including the experience in the implementation of military nuclear programs for needs of nuclear power and summarizes the status of nuclear power fuel base following the disintegration of the USSR detailing the current status of Russian nuclear fuel cycle enterprises. A scheme of technological links of nuclear fuel cycle productions plants is provided. Russia's fuel resources for nuclear power plants, uranium enrichment, fuel fabrication and spent fuel reprocessing are examined in detail. The analysis of nuclear fuel cycle technologies suggests the development of international cooperation not only on nuclear materials supplies, but also on export of uranium enrichment and radiochemical spent fuel reprocessing technologies as well as universal hydrometallurgical technologies. The paper examines the prospects of conversion of nuclear technologies into industrial technologies.
1. Prerequisites for the nuclear fuel cycle
1.1. Creation, implementation and experience in the development of military nuclear programs
On August 20, 1945, at the State Defense Committee of the USSR, the Special Interdepartmental Committee was set up to solve nuclear problems for military purposes and at that time, at the National Commissioners Council of the USSR, the First Chief Administration was set up to solve current problems concerning the nuclear weapon development.
Coincident with the development, installation and commissioning of the first nuclear F-1 reactor, various technologies and equipment have been verified and the following plants have been designed and constructed:
- plant for uranium fuel fabrication for industrial reactors;
- reactor plant;
- radiochemical plant;
- metallurgical plant;
- isotope separation plant;
- large-scale hydrometallurgical plant.
In 1948, first batches of industrial plutonium were produced, and in 1949, first batches of highly enriched uranium were produced. Thus, a full-scale production of weapons-grade nuclear materials was started.
Implementation of military programs under conditions of the confrontation between social systems resulted in a large-scale production.
Military plutonium was built up in 13 nuclear reactors, which were insignificantly used to produce heat and electricity. More than 100 GW (el) enriched uranium were produced.
The world’s largest uranium industry was created, to produce weapons-grade plutonium and uranium.
On June, 26, 1953, the First Chief Administration at the Council of Ministers of the USSR was transformed into the USSR Ministry of Medium-Scale Mechanical Engineering dealing with nuclear science and technology.
A system was created comprising research institutes, design offices, industrial enterprises of different profiles which were rigidly subordinated to one administrative structure.
After having implemented the first stage of the military program and having created a nuclear industrial complex, scientific and technical workers began to seek actively new fields of using nuclear energy.
In 1949, they began to design the first nuclear power plant (NPP) with an uranium-graphite reactor of channel type using normal water as a coolant, making use of the experience in the development of the industrial reactor to produce plutonium.
The first in the world NPP was commissioned on June 26, 1954 in the town of Obninsk.
In 1958, the Siberian NPP of dual-purpose type was commissioned to produce weapons-grade plutonium and electricity and some later - municipal heat.
In 1952, the Government signed the resolution to start works on the development of nuclear power reactors for nuclear submarines. The water-moderated water-cooled reactor was chosen. In 1954, construction of the first in the USSR nuclear submarine was started. On July, 4, 1958 the submarine left for running underwater tests using nuclear reactor energy.
At the same time, works on nuclear icebreakers were performed. Designing of nuclear ice breakers began in 1953. The nuclear icebreaker "Lenin" commissioned in 1959 operated effectively for 30 years and in 1990, it was decommissioned .
Successful works on reactors with water under pressure for shipping have suggested the development of that direction for nuclear power reactor construction.
In 1954-1955, Terms of Reference were developed to design a reactor for the Novovoronezh NPP. In September 1964, the first pilot power reactor VVER-210 was put into operation.
As the technical basis of NPPs served uranium-graphite plutonium reactors of the channel type and shell-type water-moderated ship reactors which had well mastered prototypes in the defense area.
th In 1950 , work on the creation of nuclear reactors for planes, rocket engines and space applications began. Research nuclear reactors were developed for various purposes, including isotopes production for various needs.
1.2. The inheritance from military nuclear programs
A large-scale military industrial complex was created to produce nuclear materials, including:
- uranium fabrication;
- uranium isotopes separation;
- manufacturing weapons-grade plutonium.
Specially for power engineering, fuel elements and fuel assemblies production enterprises, as well as radiochemical plants for reprocessing fuel from NPPs were created.
Essentially, uranium production and isotope separation for military and civil purposes do not differ.
It is not necessary to produce weapons-grade plutonium for civil nuclear power, where power- grade plutonium produced in NPP reactors is used.
The uranium production and isotope separation plants had capacities and nuclear materials reserves which significantly exceeded demand of the domestic nuclear power for the next years.
In this connection, the possibilities to export uranium and production services abroad were increased.
1.3. Status of the fuel basis of Russia’s nuclear power following the disintegration of the USSR
Following the disintegration of the USSR Russia’s nuclear industry has lost:
- 70% of identified uranium deposits;
- zirconium deposits (zirconium is the basic constructional material for fuel fabrication for NPP);
- identified fluorine deposits for manufacturing uranium hexafluoride;
- 85% of UO2 pellets production;
- niobium production, (niobium is an alloying element for nuclear zirconium alloys);
- ion-exchange sorbents production for uranium hydrometallurgy, radiochemistry, recycling of waste products of practically all nuclear industries;
- beryllium and tantalum production.
In Russia, the following industries have remained:
- limited uranium stocks, outputs correspond to the capacity of a NPP with the power of 15-20 GW (el);
- uranium isotopes separation (the same output);
- 15% of UO2 tablets fabrication (production extends);
- production of zirconium alloys and products (without own identified raw-material deposits);
- production of fuel element and fuel assemblies (the same output);
- radiochemical plants reprocessing fuel from VVER-440 with the same output and providing centralized storage of fuel from VVER-1000;
- all plants manufacturing weapons-grade nuclear materials;
- basic stocks of nuclear materials accumulated during implementation of large-scale defense programs.
The created large-scale nuclear complex enabled the accumulation of significant amounts of nuclear materials which are partly used for fuel fabrication for the Russian NPPs or sold on the world market but the greater part is stored for the future consumption in Russia.
The basic uranium stocks are stored as ingots of metal uranium accumulated for operation of uranium-graphite reactors, as melt (uranyl nitrate) resulting from reprocessing of fuel from uranium-graphite reactors, as stockpiles of past gas-diffusion technology and they are economically suitable for reprocessing with gas-centrifugal technology into enriched uranium.
Excessive weapons-grade uranium stocks are also rather significant. When that uranium is diluted up to power-grade concentration, its reserves are estimated to be enough to support the domestic NPP operation for at least 50-70 years taking into account, that for its dilution up to power-grade U-235 concentration natural uranium is needed in certain amounts to meet NPP requirements for 7-8 years.
Uranium stocks are expected to be enough to supply modern Russian NPPs for more than 100 years. These reserves will enable the creation of large-scale nuclear power in Russia by the middle of the century. However, own uranium raw materials are not sufficient to support the nuclear industry in the next years.
It will be necessary to involve also weapons- and power-grade plutonium as well as the uranium regenerated from fuel with high burnup.
Much work in this field lies ahead. That is why realization of the closed fuel cycle of NPPs should not be postponed as it is necessary to solve long-term environmental problems. 2. Status of nuclear fuel cycle enterprises in Russia
(The deposits at this mine should be sufficient for 25 years.[4,5] The Ingulskyi mine, on the outskirts of Kirovohrad, is located 40 km from the Novokostyantynivskyi mine and 150 km from the Smolino mine.[3] The deposits at this mine should last for approximately 15 years.[4,5] The Novokostyantynivskyi mine taps the largest known uranium deposit in Ukraine.[3] Reportedly, new deposits will be opened in early 1996, at which point Ukraine's uranium output will double.[6] This will allow Ukraine to meet domestic demand and to export uranium as well.[7,8] The Tsentralnyi mine has been mined out. The Severinski mine may be brought into operation after 2010]
Mining enterprises produce uranous-uranic oxide in amounts equivalent to the NPP capacity of 15-20 GW (el) and the remaining deposits should be sufficient for 20-30 years. New deposits to be mined out and those to be prepared for processing have no large reserves. Modern NPP requirements are not met by Russia’s capacities for reprocessing of mineral uranium raw materials. For fuel from NPPs and other reactors, uranium stored at nuclear fuel cycle enterprises should be involved.
In Russia, there are two uranium hexafluoride fabrication plants and four isotope separation plants which are able to provide the NPP with the power of 100 GW (el.).
Fuel element and fuel assemblies production plants are capable to provide NPP with the power of 120 GW (el).
Russia has sufficient capacities to produce reactor zirconium, but there is no own mined out raw-material basis. Basically, zirconic concentrate delivered from Ukraine and stored zirconium in ingots are processed.
RT-1 plant at Mayak reprocesses fuel from VVER-440, BN-600 reactora, research and transport reactors. Its productivity corresponds to the NPP capacity of 10-15 GW (el.).
Thus, NPP requirements are not met by capacities for radiochemical fuel reprocessing, and the most part of fuel unloaded from NPP reactors is stored at plant sites.
For fuel from VVER-1000, a centralized storage facility has been constructed and operated at the Krasnoyarsk Mine-Chemical Combine. At that site, a storage facility for irradiated fuel from RBMK reactors is under construction.
There are serious problems concerning storage and reprocessing of fuel from power reactors.
Construction of the large radiochemical RT-2 plant required extremely big investments.
Besides, Russia’s NPPs are not capable to provide loading of a large plant, and operation of the large plant on incomplete capacity is economically inefficient.
To complete construction of the RT-2 plant and put it into operation it is necessary to conclude contracts with foreign consumers of such services.
Fig. 1 shows a scheme of the NPP’s nuclear fuel cycle, Table 1 summarizes fuel resources for Russian NPPs.
Table 1
FUEL RESOURCES FOR RUSSIAN NPPs
1. Uranium in bowels. Resources are limited and expenses are rather high.
2. Uranium as uranous-uranic oxide in storage facilities. Residual reserves (after sale abroad) are limited.
3. Uranium as UF4, UF6, UO2 and UO2 pellets in storage facilities. Reserves are limited.
4. Uranium in ingots and products. Reserves are significant. It is most convenient for long storage with lowest expenses.
5. Stockpiles of isotope separation plants of the past years. Reserves are significant. It is used for enriched uranium fabrication with gas-centrifugal technology.
6. Weapons-grade uranium. Reserves are significant. Variants of use:
• For a long storage as strategic reserves
• Sale abroad with compensation of the natural component required for dilution up to power-grade concentration. At present, its use for fuel fabrication for Russia’s NPPs is inefficient because of excess of separation capacities and low cost of separation work.
7. Uranium regenerated from reprocessing of fuel from industrial reactors (RS melt). Reserves are significant and they are replenished due to operation of 3 industrial reactors. It is used in manufacturing enriched uranium.
8. Uranium regenerated from reprocessing of fuel from reactors VVER-440, VN, BN, IR at the RT-1 plant (combine Mayak). Accumulated stocks are insignificant, reprocessing is done in limited scales. Use of isotopes U-232, U-236 is essentially limited.
9. Uranium reserves in cores of APL reactors to be recycled. Potential reserves are insignificant.
АООТ PGKhO (main producer)
U3O8
Shop 4 ChMZ
UF4 Storage facility: Natural uranium Sublimate plants: Regenerated uranium AEKhK, SKhK («RS»)
UF6
Stockpile of the past years (0,3%U-235) Isotope separation plants: UEKhK УЭХК Stockpile (0,1% U-235) SKhK AEKhKСХК АЭХКKEKhZ КЭХК
Weapons-grade uranium after
Enriched UF6 dilution
2 завода2 fuel elements твэло в: plants:ЭМЗ, EMZ, НЗХК NZKhK Fuel from RBMK, storage at NPP, in the
future in the centralized storage facility Топливо РБМК, хранение на АЭС
Russia’sАЭС России NPPs
Fuel from VVER 1000
IrradiatedВыдержка fuel aging Storage facility облученноFuel from VVERго топлива 440 at KGKhK Топливо ВВЭР 440 Fuel from BN, transport reactors, РегенерированныйRegenerated uranium РТ1RT1 research reactors уран(«RT») (“РС”)
Power plutonium
ИзотопыIsotopes ОтходыWaste
Fig.1. Scheme of the nuclear fuel cycle of Russia’s NPP
3. Enriched uranium and services on isotope separation
th By the middle of the 1960 , in the USSR one of the largest industrial complexes for enriched uranium fabrication using gas-diffusion and gas-centrifugal technologies was created.
At present, gas-diffusion technology is decommissioned as less economic and extremely power-intensive and only gas-centrifugal technology is used.
Four isotope separation plants with full loading are capable to ensure enriched uranium fabrication sufficient to provide a NPP with the total power of 100 million KW with fuel.
Capacity of those plants is about 20 million kg separation units per year, that corresponds to fabrication of about 70 tons 90% enriched uranium at concentration of U-235 isotope in tails of 0,1% enrichment.
Russia’s nuclear power plants consume about 4 000 tons natural uranium per year and 4,5-4,7 million kg ERR per year.
Taking into account that enriched uranium is also used in research reactors, in ship reactors of icebreakers and submarines and other surface ships, Russia’s internal demand for separation capacities make about 5 million kg ERR/year.
Russia provides enriched uranium and fuel fabrication for NPPs constructed abroad under the Russian projects, that demands separation capacities of about 5 million kg ЕРР per year taking into account guaranteed stocks.
Thus, surplus capacities at Russia’s isotope separation plants make at least 10 million kg ERR per year, that at today’s world market prices of ~100 dollars / kg ЕРР (the average price on the primary and secondary market) corresponds to the potential market of 1 billion dollars a year. Taking into account that the cost of isotope separation with gas-centrifugal technology is essentially lower than world prices, the potential profit from isotope separation services using available capacities can make 500-700 million dollars a year.
In 1971, the USSR concluded the first contract for services on uranium isotope separation with France. Further trade extended.
Thus, Russia has a rich experience in isotope separation on the international market. All four Russia’s separation plants are involved in enriched uranium supply to the world market, ensuring an appropriate product quality.
In Russia, there are real possibilities to increase separation capacities at free sites of existing separation plants as well as potential possibilities to reduce expenses of separation due to equipment of plants by developed and approved ultracentrifuges with a flexible rotor.
4. Nuclear fuel (pellets, fuel elements , fuel assemblies)
Russian nuclear power engineering demand for nuclear fuel for annual reloading makes about 750 tons enriched uranium in fuel assemblies per year.
To produce such an amount of fuel, about 4 000 tons natural uranium per year and about 5 million kg ERR per year are required.
Foreign NPPs constructed under Russian projects and provided with Russian fuel need ~670 tons enriched uranium in fuel assemblies per year to be reloaded.
To produce that fuel, 5 500 tons natural uranium per year and about 5 million kg ERR per year are required.
Total production capacities are 2300 tons fuel from VVER and 600 tons fuel from RBMK.
Surplus capacities for fuel from VVER make about 1500 tons.
Since 1996, the Electrostal Machine-Building Plant has produced small batches of fuel assemblies for PWR reactors of Germany’s NPPs to orders of SIEMENS. Long-term cooperation in this field seems to be possible.
However, surplus capacities are significant, and incomplete loading of capacities increases production cost.
A higher fuel burnup according to the programs to be implemented will reduce Russian NPPs demand for fuel. In that case, expenses will increase.
Surplus capacities in plants engaged in fuel fabrication have led to a keen competition among nuclear fuel suppliers who are forced to improve the product quality and reliability.
The introduction of a new fuel (U-Gd) with replacing steel elements of fuel assemblies by zirconic ones will ensure safety and a modern level of natural uranium consumption achieved in operating PWR (~0,196 kg / МW t·day).
Using erbium absorber to be burnt up in fuel pellets from RBMK (0,4-0,6 мас.) reduces steam factor of reactance and allows to refuse additional absorbers. Uranium-erbium fuel reduces uneven energy release, enables to increase fuel enrichment and a higher fuel burnup almost by 40%.
5. Irradiated fuel reprocessing with a possible development of radiochemical plants for needs of foreign customers
Today, Russia reprocesses fuel in limited amounts.
The technological scheme of the single radiochemical RT-1 plant at the combine Mayak allows to reprocess fuel from VVER-440, BN-600, research reactors and transport reactors. A plant for reprocessing of fuel from VVER-1000 is under reconstruction.
The storage facility for spent fuel from VVER-1000 is operated. Construction of a large radiochemical RT-2 plant is postponed for indefinite periods. At present, at the Mining- Chemical Combine (Zheleznogorsk) a dry storage for irradiated fuel assemblies from VVER and RBMK is under construction.
In radiochemical technology, reprocessing cost substantially depends on the plant capacity and capacity loading.
Just this factor accounts for a lag of reprocessing capacities behind construction of NPPs. Significant nuclear capacities are required to load a big plant and organize its economic operation. Mastering of radiochemical technologies caused many technical difficulties which required both time and large means to overcome them.
Today, there are insufficient reprocessing capacities in the world, and a high reprocessing cost makes many countries prefer an open fuel cycle and speak about the postponed closed fuel cycle.
Large-scale nuclear power cannot exist without the closed fuel cycle for two reasons: deficiency of economically accessible reserves of natural uranium to use it only in thermal open cycle reactors and a greater ecological compatibility of the closed cycle with fractionation of radioactive waste and actinide transmutation.
That is why the market for services on fuel reprocessing will extend.
The experience in the development and operation of radiochemical technologies allows Russia to create big capacities to render fuel reprocessing services to foreign customers. In this case, when the price for reprocessing makes 1000 USD/kg U, significant profits will be expected. Those profits would cover expenses for capital construction of all planned facilities dealing with spent nuclear fuel from Russian NPPs as well as expenses to solve the most environmental problems of Russia’s nuclear industry inherited from realization of the past military programs.
6. Potential possibilities to export nuclear fuel cycle technologies
6.1. Isotope separation technologies
In Russia, two different technologies of isotope separation have been used: gas-diffusion and gas-centrifugal technologies. Both have operated with a high perfection. However, today, primarily for economic reasons, only gas-centrifugal technology as essentially less power- intensive is used for uranium isotope separation.
For gas-diffusion technology used earlier, porous membranes with unique properties were created. They are made from ultrafine powder-like nickel using methods of powder metallurgy.
These membranes of given sizes of apertures up to tens angstrems, may have extensive applications in industrial technologies for separation of gas mixes and in industrial technologies for fine clearing of gases.
Gas-diffuse technology is well developed also in the USA, Great Britain and France.
Russian gas-centrifugal technology is distinguished by the highest technological world’s level, high cost-efficacy, that allows to consider it promising for a large-scale isotope production of elements forming volatile simple chemical compounds.
The technology is characterized by a high verification degree, service life of continuous operated centrifuges (speed of rotation > 1500 r/sec) for over 20 years can be anticipated.
Some later, gas-centrifugal technology was implemented in Urenco plants of total capacity of ~3,5 million kg ERR per year in Great Britain, Germany and Netherlands (in Russia 20 million kg ERR per year), service life of centrifuges was about 2 years (in Russia - more than 20 years).
Rather small gas-centrifugal installations are operated in Japan, Brazil, China (in China with Russian technology).
As for export of gas-centrifugal technologies, there are various opinions. On the one hand, there are surplus capacities at Russian plants, and it is more profitable to operate them than hold them in reserve. On the other hand, the most effective technology should be exported to load producers of centrifuges, improve technology and equipment, i.e. dynamically develop it and keep competitiveness.
Both available opportunities should be used when carrying on scheduled work on the world market of enriched uranium taking into account the fact that weapons-grade uranium produced from the surplus nuclear ammunition and diluted up to power concentration will have a significant influence on the market of enriched uranium for at least 20 years.
There is a need to expand areas of application of gas-centrifugal technology to produce isotopes of other chemical elements.
6.2. Radiochemical technologies
Historically, only those nuclear fuel cycle technologies have been attributed to radiochemistry where irradiated materials are processed. Those technologies are used at plants for reprocessing irradiated fuel into a new regenerated fuel for NPPs, on units for manufacturing reactor radioactive isotopes, on installations for recycling radioactive waste from NPP and plants reprocessing irradiated materials.
Radiochemical technologies have been developed along with reactor technologies to produce weapons-grade plutonium and later - for nuclear power installations.
Much experience in scientific, engineering and commercial work has been gained.
Unique sorptive and extractive technologies have been developed.
Radiation-resistant sorbents and extractants have been created. Much experience in the development of waterless radiochemical technologies using methods of electrolysis of fused salts based on the volatility of fluorides.
Dry technologies for spent nuclear fuel reprocessing have some attractive feature:
1. High reaction kinetics enable to create compact nuclear safe high-efficiency installations.
2. There is no environment slowing down neutrons, that also contributes to nuclear safety.
3. High radiation stability of used reagents enables to handle highly active products with short-time post-reactor aging.
4. In these technologies, radioactive waste turns immediately in the technological layout of fuel reprocessing to compact firm compounds, suitable for disposal without special processing.
The development of large-scale closed cycle nuclear power will be significantly restrained by currently used water technology of fuel regeneration characterized by large amounts of liquid radioactive waste.
In the future, large-scale fuel reprocessing complexes will be inter-regional and provide service to NPPs of many countries.
The primary goals of those complexes are return of unused nuclear materials and bred nuclear materials built up in reactors to power engineering and minimization of amounts of radioactive waste to be disposed forever. Most likely, radiochemical technologies will combine both dry and water methods.
Russia should have primarily for economic reasons a large radiochemical complex to offer reprocessing services and promising technologies for similar foreign complexes on the world market.
6.3. Universal hydrometallurgical technologies
In fact, on the basis of essentially new technologies developed for processing of uranium ores with an extremely complex structure, modern hydrometallurgy of rare, disseminated, nonferrous and precious metals has been created.
Depleted uranium raw materials in Russia have predetermined the development of highly effective processing technology on the basis of ion-exchange sorptive, extractive and membrane technologies.
Unlike many foreign countries, in Russia processes of ion-exchange sorption were mostly developed. Those pulp-type processes allowed a cost-effective processing of depleted clay ores excluding filtration operations which are most expensive in processing silicate and aluminum silicate ores, typical for uranium deposits of Russia and the former USSR.
We can state with assurance that ion-exchange sorptive processes in large-scale hydrometallurgy in Russia are at the highest world level.
Many developing countries having deposits of valuable metals, are interested in the participation of Russian experts in the creation of a technology intended first of all for processing gold ores.
Hydrometallurgical technology for processing of deplete gold ores in the Muruntau mine (Uzbekistan) is characterized by a high efficiency of sorptive processes basing on special ion- exchange sorbents.
In research and commercial institutes of the nuclear industry, unique technologies have been created to extract zirconium, molybdenum, tungsten, tantalum, niobium, titanium, rare-earth elements, beryllium, lithium, fluorine, phosphorus and some other elements from depleted ores.
All technologies have been tested and verified under industrial conditions. Besides, special equipment has been developed and manufactured and it has found wide practical use.
For all nuclear fuel cycle technologies unique equipment, control devices and control systems have been created. All this can find a wider use in various areas of science and engineering.
7. Conversion of nuclear technologies
7.1. Technologies of nonferrous, rare, precious metals: hydrometallurgy, pyrochemistry, metallurgy and ceramics
The nuclear industry, its demand for uranium and other reactor materials have set a problem of large scale manufacturing nuclear grade materials and have necessitated the creation of new highly effective technologies.
Nuclear technologies throughout all parts of the nuclear fuel cycle have been created on the basis of essentially new scientific and engineering solutions.
They are, first of all, new hydrometallurgy, which allowed to solve problems of manufacturing ultrapure products from depleted mineral raw materials. Conversion potentialities of uranium hydrometallurgy, useful processes, reagents, hardware and instrument equipment are extremely wide.
These technologies are basic and economically appropriate for nonferrous, rare and precious metals under conditions of constantly reducing concentration of these metals in initial mineral raw materials.
In 1941, ion-exchange sorbtion basing of polymeric materials was first tested on copper in Germany , but it was developed for uranium ores processing. At plants of the former USSR st sorptive pulp process was first introduced and already at the 1 Geneva Conference on Peace Use of Atomic Energy in 1955 it was declared, that the USSR had created the most advanced ion-exchange sorptive technology for uranium.
Today, it is successfully used as universal hydrometallurgical technology. But she is of special value for processing of silicate and aluminum silicate polymetallic ores characterized by poor filtration characteristics.
So universal became both extraction and membrane technologies which also are the basis of modern hydrometallurgy.
In pyrochemistry for uranium processing fabrication, gas-flame technologies marked by ultrahigh kinetics of processes enabling a large-scale uranium reprocessing on rather small devices have been created.
Devices providing productivity up to 100 tons uranium processing per day with a fluorator of 300 mm in diameter and height of 3 meters have been created.
These technologies in various variants can find application to obtain highly volatile fluorides of elements which are required in big scales in pure state.
In uranium metallurgy high-efficiency processes of regenerative metallurgy were created, which in combination with vacuum refining remelting of ingots provide ultrahigh cleanliness of metals. undoubtedly, scopes of these processes, can be expanded.
In metallurgy of zirconium - the basic engineering material of nuclear power reactors - large- scale processes of electrolytic manufactoring powders of refractory metals, processes of electroarc, electron beam and plasma metallurgy have been created.
Processes of powder metallurgy to produce highly porous filters for diffusion processes of gases separation, for fabrication of high density ceramic nuclear fuel, for beryllium ceramics were widely developed in nuclear technologies.
7.2. Separation of elements isotopes
Gas ultracentrifuges created for uranium isotopes separation are characterized by a high reliability and small power consumption.
Incorporated in cascades, they are capable to provide production plants of isotopes of any elements forming simple volatile compounds in any scales.
Electromagnetic processes of isotopes separation, created to produce highly enriched uranium are now widely used to receive a large number of stable isotopes of elements.
7.3. Environment protection technologies
In nuclear fuel cycle technologies rigidly limited to dumps and emissions of waste effective technologies for clearing of gases and sewage are widely developed. They are considered universal. First of all, they are processes of ion-exchange sorbtion designed not only for clearing of metals salts, but also for clearing from deleterious organic compounds, as well as from mineral oil with use of porous ionites.
Membrane technologies are used both for regeneration of used reagents and for desalting of industrial and natural waters.
There are a lot of examples of nuclear technologies conversion. Experts of branch research institutes know many hundreds and at appropriate management their use, both for internal application, and for export can bring significant profits.
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