It is proposed that the 232,234,236U concentration in reprocessed uranium hexafluoride be lowered by adding an extra product stream into a cascade of gas centrifuges. In the extra product 235U is concentrated up to 95% or more while at the same time the 232,234,236U concentration is reduced. This product is diluted with waste uranium hexafluoride to 235U concentration <5%. A computational experiment was performed for cascades with a different number of gas centrifuges per stage. The product obtained after dilution with 232,234U was shown to meet the ASTM C996-15 specifications for commercial grade uranium hexafluoride. The 236U content is equal to 0.1% and requires very little compensation by raising the 235U concentration.
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Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 130, No. 2, pp. 83–88, February, 2021.
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Palkin, V.A., Smirnov, A.Y. & Sulaberidze, G.A. Gas Centrifuge Cascade for Concentrating 235U in Additional Product and Purification of Processed Uranium Hexafluoride from 232,234,236U. At Energy 130, 88–93 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-021-00779-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-021-00779-8