METHOD OF PREPARING DILUENT FOR PROCESSING MILITARY HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM INTO REDUCED-ENRICHMENT URANIUM Russian patent published in 2008 - IPC C01G43/06 B01D59/20 

FIELD: nuclear engineering.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to nuclear fuel cycle and can be utilized in manufacture of nuclear reactor fuel via processing highly enriched uranium recovered during dismounting of nuclear weapon into reduced-enrichment uranium for nuclear station fuel. In particular, invention relates to technology of preparing diluent for processing hexafluoride of military highly enriched uranium into reduced-enrichment uranium hexafluoride. Method of preparing above diluent comprises enrichment of uranium hexafluoride with low content of ²³⁵U and ²³⁴U supplied to gas centrifuge cascade to specified concentration of ²³⁵U for diluent, the latter being obtained in intermediate takeoff of cascade producing, in its main takeoff, reduced-enrichment uranium hexafluoride with higher concentration of ²³⁵U relative to diluent. Use of claimed method enables obtaining diluent at lower separation work consumption needed to produce it because this work does not require assignment of a separated cascade for production of diluent, while production thereof is accomplished in cascade producing, in its main takeoff, reduced-enrichment uranium used as fuel and diluent is produced in an intermediate takeoff.

EFFECT: enabled production of two desired products (diluent and reduced-enrichment uranium) in the same separation cascade.

7 cl, 9 dwg, 11 tbl, 4 ex