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."
Return to "Uranium Mining and Enrichment"
|