Uranium Mining and Enrichment

Uranium Enrichment through Gaseous Diffusion

Before processing by gaseous diffusion, uranium is first converted from uranium oxide (U₃0₈) to uranium hexafluoride (UF₆).

In gaseous diffusion, uranium hexafluoride is divided into two separate streams, and U-235 selectively diffuses from one stream to the other. As a result, one of the UF₆ output streams is increased, or enriched, in its percentage of U-235, and the other is reduced, or depleted, in its percentage of U-235. The depleted uranium hexafluoride product is referred to as "depleted UF₆."