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US 7,422,626 B2Granted
Method and device for declogging filter
AssigneeSociete Franco-Belge de Fabrication de Combustible-FBFC
InventorAndré Feugier
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Abstract
A method of declogging at least one filter of a plant for manufacturing uranium oxide from uranium hexafluoride, including separating, from the wall of the filter, uranium oxyfluoride particles deposited, by a stream of inert gas such as nitrogen, injected into the filter, in a counter-currentwise direction to the flow of hydrofluoric acid.
Claims13
A method of declogging at least one filter of a plant for producing uranium oxide from uranium hexafluoride comprising:
- injecting gaseous hexafluoride UF6 and steam into a reactor;
- forming uranium oxyfluouride UO2F2 in powder form and gaseous hydrofluoric acid HF;
- separating uranium oxyfluoride UO2F2 conveyed by gases containing gaseous hydrofluroic acid HF in an outlet part of the reactor in at least one filtration unit having at least one filter having a tubular filtration wall arranged with an axis vertical;
- and
- evacuating a gas containing hydrofluoric acid to the outside of the reactor, wherein the declogging of the filter comprises:
- separating uranium oxyfluoride UO2F2 from the wall of the filter by a stream of inert gas injected into the filter counter-currentwise to a flow of the evacuated gas containing the hydrofluoric acid HF, wherein the inert gas is injected along the axis of the wall of the filter in a form of a jet with a velocity greater than 300 m/s for a duration of less than 1 second, wherein a nozzle is configured to inject the inert gas, the nozzle aligned with the vertical axis of the wall of the filter, the nozzle connected by a pipe for feeding the inert declogging gas to at least one distribution element.
3 more elements
A device for declogging at least one filter of a plant for producing uranium oxide from uranium hexafluoride, comprising:
- a reactor including a jacket having a generally vertical arrangement;
- a pipe for injecting uranium hexafluoride, steam and dilution gas entering the jacket of the reactor together with at least one unit for filtering gases evacuated from the reactor having a manifold connected to a pipe for evacuating gases to outside the reactor in which emerges an outlet end of at least one filter having a tubular wall with a vertical axis supported by a plate separating the gas manifold from an inner space of the jacket of the reactor in which the filter is placed, the declogging device having a reservoir for storing pressurized inert declogging gas;
- and
- an arrangement configured to distribute and route inert declogging gas toward the at least one filter of the at least one filtration unit of the reactor, wherein a nozzle configured to inject inert gas aligned with the vertical axis of the wall of the filter, the nozzle connected by a pipe for feeding inert declogging gas to at least one distribution element.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.