Method of obtaining uranium from oxide using a chloride process
AssigneeCompagnie Europeenne du Zirconium Cezus
InventorsYves Bertaud, Jean Boutin, Pierre Brun, Roger Durand, Antoine Floreancig, Airy-Pierre Lamaze, Roland Tricot
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Abstract
A method of obtaining uranium metal from an oxidized uranium compound, characterized in that the oxidized compound is treated with chlorine and carbon at a first stage, to obtain a chloride which is reduced by electrolysis or metallothermy using a reducing metal at a second stage.
Claims30
A method of producing uranium from one of its oxidized compounds without creating any liquid or solid effluent, comprising a sequence of the following stages:
- a) reacting in a first stage a mixture of a particulate of said oxidized compound and an excess of carbon powder with chlorine gas at a temperature over 600.degree. C., to obtain UCl.sub.4 gas;
- b) filtering and condensing the UCl.sub.4 gas obtained;
- c) reducing UCl.sub.4 at a high temperature below the melting temperature of uranium, so as to produce uranium in solid form and a chlorine-containing by-product;
- and
- d) recycling the by-product to the process.
A method of producing uranium from one of its oxidized compounds without creating any liquid or solid effluent, comprising the steps of:
- a) reacting in a first stage a mixture of particulate of said oxidized compound and an excess of carbon powder with chlorine gas in a medium of melted chlorides at a temperature over 600.degree. C., to obtain UCl.sub.4 gas;
- b) filtering and condensing the UCl.sub.4 gas obtained from step a);
- c) reducing UCl.sub.4 at a temperature below the melting temperature of uranium, so as to produce uranium in solid form and a chlorine-containing by-product;
- and
- d) recycling said by-product to the process.
A method of producing uranium from one of its oxidized compounds without creating any liquid or solid effluent, comprising the steps of:
- a) reacting in a first stage a mixture of a particulate of said oxide compound and an excess of carbon powder with chlorine gas at a temperature over 600.degree. C., to obtain UCl.sub.4 gas;
- b) filtering and condensing the UCl.sub.4 gas obtained;
- c) reducing the UCl.sub.4 obtained from step b) by dry electrolysis at a temperature below the melting temperature of uranium, so as to produce uranium in solid form at a cathode and a by-product of chlorine at an anode, said electrolysis being carried out with a diaphragm which is arranged between the anode and cathode and is conductive;
- d) recycling the by-product to the process.
A method of producing uranium from one of its oxidized compounds without creating any liquid or solid effluent, comprising the steps of:
- a) reacting in a first stage a mixture of a particulate of said oxide compound and an excess of carbon powder with chlorine gas at a temperature over 600.degree. C., to obtain UCl.sub.4 gas;
- b) filtering and condensing the UCl.sub.4 gas obtained in step a);
- c) reducing the UCl.sub.4 obtained from step b) by dry electrolysis at a temperature below the melting temperature of uranium, so as to produce uranium in solid form at a cathode and liberation of a by-product of chlorine at an anode, said electrolysis taking place with a cathode which comprises an openwork basket surrounding the anode, and at least one complementary cathode polarized cathodically relative to said openwork basket cathode;
- and
- d) recycling said by-product to the process.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.