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 Natural uranium ore first passes through the refining, conversion, enrichment, reconversion and fabrication processes before it is fed into the nuclear reactor as a metal-sheathed fuel. Following irradiation, the spent fuel from the reactor is sent to a reprocessing plant where the residual uranium and newly produced plutonium are recovered for re-use as fuel. Then, the plutonium oxide is mixed with uranium oxide at a MOX fuel conversion plant to produce a mixed oxide nuclear fuel, otherwise known as MOX. MOX fuel can then be irradiated just like fresh fuel in a nuclear power plant. This entire process is called the "closed" nuclear fuel cycle.
| Mining: |
Extraction of uranium ore (crude ore) from mines. |
| Refining: |
Removal of impurities from the ore to produce yellow cake (uranium concentrate). |
| Conversion: |
Conversion of yellow cake into uranium hexafluoride. (UF6) |
| Enrichment: |
Treatment of UF6 to increase the concentration of uranium 235, which burns readily but which is contained only in small quantities (0.7%) in UF6, to between 3 and 5 percent. |
| Reconversion: |
Conversion of enriched UF6 to uranium dioxide (UO2). |
| Fabrication: |
Sintering of UO2 to form it into hardened pellets which are sealed inside zirconium alloy tubes for arrangement into fuel assemblies. |
| Generation: |
Loading of fuel assemblies into a reactor for use in the generation of electric power. |
| Reprocessing: |
Recovery of the residual unburned uranium and newly produced plutonium in fuel that has been in use for three or four years or so (spent fuel) and separation of the radioactive waste. |
| Re-use: |
Recovered uranium and plutonium is processed to be burned as fuel again. |
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