Nukem Limited

Hobeg Hochtemperaturreaktor-brennelement Gmbh

Nuken Technologies Gmbh

Nukem Technologies Gmbh

Egbert Brandau

Martin Kadner

Hans Huschka

Georg Braehler

Werner Heit

Karl Froschauer

Karl-Gerhard Hackstein

Gerhard Spener

Horst Ebinger

Edwin Brauneis

Guo Wenli

Liang Tonxiang

Waldemar Schroder

Tang Chunhe

Yaping Tang

Guenther Luthardt

A method and an arrangement for producing spherical fuel cores and/or breeder material cores by dripping a pouring solution containing uranyl nitrate and a solution containing at least one auxiliary agent into an ammoniacal precipitation bath to form microspheres, aging, washing, drying, and thermally treating the microspheres. In order to provide a continuous production method along with a constantly high core quality, it is proposed that 1) the microspheres from the precipitation bath be separated through a first separator and fed to the ammoniacal aging water for aging, 2) the contact duration of the microspheres with the liquid of the precipitation bath before being introduced into the aging water be set equally or substantially equally, 3) the microspheres be transferred from the aging water to a multi-stage cascade scrubber using a transfer device, wherein the microspheres are washed in the multi-stage cascade scrubber so as to be free or substantially free from ammonium nitrate and at least one auxiliary agent contained in the microspheres, and 4) after drying, the microspheres be calcinated while distributed in a monolayer during a thermal treatment.

Method and arrangement for producing fuel kernels

A method for the production of spherical combustible or fertile material particles from an oxide of the group of the heavy metals uranium, plutonium, or mixtures thereof. For this purpose, the process steps of producing a base solution of the nitrates of the heavy metal(s), adding at least one first reagent in order to adjust the viscosity of the solution, dropping the solution to form microspheres, at least superficially solidifying the microspheres in an atmosphere containing ammonia, collecting the microspheres in a solution containing ammonia, and subsequent washing, drying and thermal treatment are carried out, where at least one of urea, ammonium carbonate, ammonium hydrogen carbonate, ammonium cyanate, and biuret are added to the base solution before adding the first reagent. The solution thus prepared is heated to a temperature T where 80&#xb0; C.&#x2266;T&#x3c;Tand where T=boiling temperature of the solution, and is maintained at the temperature over a time period t where 2 h&#x2266;t&#x2266;8 h.

Method for the production of spherical combustible or fertile material particles

In order to produce aluminium oxide beads, an acid aluminium oxide sol or an acid aluminium oxide suspension is converted into droplets by a vibrating nozzle plate and pre-solidified after the formation of a bead shape by laterally blowing gaseous ammonia and then coagulated in an ammonia solution.

Process for producing aluminum oxide beads

Method for producing stabilized zirconium oxide powder

To manufacture spherical particles out of liquid phase with a narrow grain spectrum using melting temperatures of up to 1500.degree. C. by generating droplets by means of vibrating nozzles, the liquid phase, the nozzle and the drop distance for the droplets are maintained at a constant temperature of 1.degree. to 10.degree. C. above the melting temperature of the liquid phase until the spherical shape of the falling droplets has stabilized. The particles must then be abruptly chilled.

Method for manufacturing spherical particles out of liquid phase

For the safe intermediate and final storage of tritium after reaction with a hydride forming metal, it is embedded in concrete which, of course, does not lead to a complete exclusion from the environment since the tritium is able to permeate through the concrete. This is avoided by pressing to molded bodies at room temperature the tritium containing metal particles with powders of metals which have a low permeability for tritium.

Process for the safe intermediate and final storage of tritium

There is provided a process for the production of spherical fuel and/or fertile oxide or carbide particles for a nuclear reactor, especially a high temperature reactor, by casting an aqueous solution of a uranium and/or a thorium and/or plutonium salt, as well as in the case of the production of carbide particles finely dispersed carbon also, from a vibrating nozzle, passing the drops formed through an ammonia containing gas zone into an ammoniacal precipitation bath with subsequent washing, drying and sintering or melting. To the aqueous solution there is added individually or in admixture a water soluble or water miscible monomeric hydrocarbon having an aldehyde, keto, ether, amino, imino, phenol, carboxylic acid or carboxylic acid amide group, which substituted hydrocarbons form stable adducts with uranium, thorium and plutonium in aqueous alkaline solution, which adducts cannot be washed out with water and which does not impart to the solution a viscosity of over 15 cp at 20.degree. C.

Process for the production of fuel and fertile particles

Uniform spherical fuel and/or fertile particles are formed by conversion of an oscillating liquid stream of a uranium and/or thorium compound solution flowing from at least one nozzle in an amount of more than 3,000 drops per minute by allowing these drops to fall into an ammonia solution and subsequently drying and sintering the particles thus formed. Before immersion in the ammonia solution the drops are first allowed to pass through a falling zone free of ammonia, this zone is so regulated that the drops have taken on their exact spherical form and then the drops are passed through a second falling zone containing flowing ammonia gas, whereby the ammonia gas is introduced into this second falling zone through at least one inlet conduit in such manner that there is guaranteed not only an ammonia gas flow in the opposite direction to that of the falling drops but also a horizontal cross current of the ammonia gas through the space between the drops and this second falling zone is so regulated that the spherical drops are sufficiently hardened before immersion in the ammonia solution.

Process for the production of spherical fuel and fertile particles

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Maintal, Germany

Martin Kadner