Overview
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ABSTRACT
The history of the uranium enrichment industry is very different from that of the main industrial processes. It was developed in an emergency climate as early as the beginning of WW1, and with hardly any constraints on cost, yield and profit. Remarkable advances in the variety of enrichment methods, as well as in their efficiency, have been achieved since the first calutrons were implemented. Before describing the research and development efforts carried out by many countries, and in order to gain better understanding of the reasons for the competition between so extremely different processes, this article recalls the large variety of the material to be enriched, i.e. the uranium, and the great diversity of the needs to be met by this industry.
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Read the articleAUTHORS
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Michel ALEXANDRE: Former Research Director, CEA Saclay
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Jean-Pierre QUAEGEBEUR: Former Program Engineer, CEA Saclay
INTRODUCTION
The uranium enrichment industry is already over sixty years old, and its history is very different from that of most industrial processes. It was developed in an atmosphere of urgency right from the start of the Second World War, with virtually no constraints on cost, yield or profit. Remarkable progress has been made in the variety and efficiency of enrichment methods since the first calutrons were introduced in 1944. Before describing the research and development efforts made by many countries, and to better understand the reasons for the competition between such different processes, we recall the wide variety of compositions of the material to be enriched, uranium, and the wide diversity of needs faced by this industry.
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Uranium enrichment
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USEC Inc. http://www.usec.com/
Nuclear Regulatory Commission http://www.nrc.gov/
Uranium Information Centre http://www.uic.com.au/
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