Process for the purification of uranium and particularly irradiated uranium and device for the practical operation of the process

摘要

Uranium is purified (e.g. from fission products) by melting it under a heat stable slag which is molten at the melting point of uranium, the whole molten mass being cooled to freeze the uranium which is then removed from the still liquid slag which now contains the impurities. The slag is preferably a near eutectic composition of beryllium oxide up to 50% with at least one of Ba, Ca, Sr, Li, or La oxides with a possible addition of 4% of UO2. The uranium may form the electrode in a consumable arc furnace and a tungsten electrode may be provided for melting the slag. Other methods of melting are also referred to. Examples of slags used comprise: BeO 10%, BaO 83%, La2O3 7%; and BeO 9.36%, BaO 80.64%, CaO 10%.