Preparation of urania and urania‐zirconia microspheres by a sol‐gel process

Abstract

The sol‐gel process was originally developed and applied at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for preparation of high‐density thoria‐urania fragments and microspheres for nuclear reactor fuels. The application of the process for preparation of microspheres to sols of urania, urania‐zirconia, and urania‐carbon is reported in this paper. Relatively high‐strength, spherical particles of UO2, UO2‐ZrO2, and UC2 were prepared with diameters of 50‐500 microns and densities of 80‐100% of the theoretical densities.

Selection and properties of alternative forming fluids for TRISO fuel kernel production

“…Early kernel production efforts avoided halogenated forming fluids to prevent possible halogen contamination in the kernel, but this concern has not been studied in depth [14]. The current production method uses TCE as the forming fluid and results in little chlorine contamination in the produced fuel kernels [4].…”

Preparation of Porous Thoria by Incorporation of Carbon in Sols.

“…their specific surface areas to decrease to 13,17,17,10, and 81 m /g respectively. These areas are still quite high in view of the thermal treatment.…”

“…GS-44 and laboratory [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] Analyses and properties are as follows:…”

Laboratory and Engineering Studies of Sol--Gel Processes at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

“…The initial development of the process for the preparation of Tho2 microspheres and i t s application to U 0 2 or U02-Zr02 sols have been previously reported, 16,17 Our work has included the operation of a microsphere pilot plant, with procedures and equipment required for a remote facility, the application of the process to a variety of sols on a larger scale, and the continued development of dispersers for sols.…”