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The busyness of the nuclear fuel supply chain
Ken Petersenpresident@ans.org
With all that is happening in the industry these days, the nuclear fuel supply chain is still a hot topic. The Russian assault in Ukraine continues to upend the “where” and “how” of attaining nuclear fuel—and it has also motivated U.S. legislators to act.
Two years into the Russian war with Ukraine, things are different. The Inflation Reduction Act was passed in 2022, authorizing $700 million in funding to support production of high-assay low-enriched uranium in the United States. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy this January issued a $500 million request for proposals to stimulate new HALEU production. The Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024 includes $2.7 billion in funding for new uranium enrichment production. This funding was diverted from the Civil Nuclear Credits program and will only be released if there is a ban on importing Russian uranium into the United States—which could happen by the time this column is published, as legislation that bans Russian uranium has passed the House as of this writing and is headed for the Senate. Also being considered is legislation that would sanction Russian uranium. Alternatively, the Biden-Harris administration may choose to ban Russian uranium without legislation in order to obtain access to the $2.7 billion in funding.
Gary M. Stange, Michael Corradini, Robert Swader, George Petry, Thomas R. Mackie, Kevin W. Eliceiri
Nuclear Technology | Volume 197 | Number 2 | February 2017 | Pages 191-200
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NT16-107
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Uranyl nitrate hexahydrate [UO2(NO3)2 · 6H2O] (UNH) holds interest as a potential nuclear reactor fuel for manufacturing the key medical isotope 99mTc through the production and subsequent decay of 99Mo. Fuel element design for such a production method requires knowledge of the thermal properties of the fuel material, particularly in the case of UNH, which has a significantly lower melting temperature than that of fuels being used currently. A system was designed to measure the thermal conductivity of UNH by an ASTM International standard thermal probe method. Measurements were made at four temperatures within the relevant range for the reactor system (25°C through 55°C) and with a variety of material preparations. With a fill gas of air, the results demonstrate a thermal conductivity at 25°C between 0.07 and 0.10 W · cm−1 · K−1. The results are the first step toward future studies that could lead to a more efficient reactor design with a heating source term capable of meeting the demand for 99Mo production while maintaining a safe and effective thermal margin.