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US 2018/0370808 A1Published application
Method to produce uranium silicides
AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorsEDWARD J. LAHODA, SIMON MIDDLEBURGH
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Abstract
The method described herein may be characterized as reacting uranium dioxide with carbon to produce uranium carbide, and, reacting the uranium carbide with a silane, a silicon halide, a siloxane, or combinations thereof, and excess hydrogen to produce uranium silicide.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- forming uranium dioxide;
- reacting uranium dioxide with carbon to produce uranium carbide;
- and, reacting uranium carbide with a silicon based reactant comprised of a silane, a silicon halide, a siloxane, and combinations thereof, in the presence of excess hydrogen to form a uranium silicide product.
A method for producing a uranium silicide nuclear fuel comprising a reaction represented by:
- UF6+H2+2H2O→UO2+6HF;
- (1)
- (2) one or both of
- UO2+3C→UC+2CO and (i)
- UO2+2C→UC+CO2;
- (ii)
- and,
- 3UC+one of 2SiX4 or Si2O+2X2→U3Si2+3CX4, (3)
- wherein X is selected from the group consisting of H, Cl, F, Br, and I and combinations thereof
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.