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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Installations Safety
Devoted specifically to the safety of nuclear installations and the health and safety of the public, this division seeks a better understanding of the role of safety in the design, construction and operation of nuclear installation facilities. The division also promotes engineering and scientific technology advancement associated with the safety of such facilities.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Latest News
Oklo to collaborate with Atomic Alchemy on isotope production
Fast reactor developer Oklo, which recently went public on the New York Stock Exchange, announced on May 13 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Atomic Alchemy to cooperate on the production of radioisotopes for medical, energy, industry, and science applications.
Rosendo Borjas Nevarez, Bruce McNamara, Frederic Poineau
Nuclear Technology | Volume 207 | Number 2 | February 2021 | Pages 263-269
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2020.1757961
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
For several decades, extensive research has been performed on the recovery and purification of zirconium from spent nuclear fuel cladding using a variety of chlorination reaction processes. After the reaction between fuel cladding and chlorine gas, zirconium tetrachloride is separated from other chloride species based on their boiling/sublimation points; however, the presence of iron and niobium chloride impurities limits the efficiency of these processes. In this work, chlorination products of Zr, Fe, and Nb mixtures were analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis, and the results suggest that Fe impurities cannot be removed via chlorination alone. Purification of zirconium from Zircaloy-2, Zircaloy-4, and a Zr-Nb alloy was performed via hydrochlorination using a sealed tube reaction system. The purity of the final ZrCl4 products is higher than 99.99% after successful removal of Fe and Nb.