Question

An enrichment plant has a throughput of 32,000 kg U/day and produces 26,000 kg U as tails. What is the enrichment of the product if the feed is natural uranium and the tails are 0.25%

Answer 1

Answer:

1.10 %

Explanation:

The enrichment of the product can be calculated using the following equation:

$\frac{W}{P} = \frac{x_{p} - x_{f}}{x_{f} - x_{w}}$   (1)

where W: is waste or tails = 26000, P: is the product = 32000, xp: is the wt. fraction of ²³⁵U in product, xf: is the wt. fraction of ²³⁵U in feed = 0.72% and xw: is the wt. fraction of ²³⁵U in waste or tails = 0.25%.      

By solving equation (1) for xp, we can find the enrichment of the product:

$x_{p} = \frac {W}{P} \cdot (x_{f} - x_{w}) + x_{f}$        

$x_{p} = \frac {26000}{32000} \cdot (0.72 - 0.25) + 0.72 = 1.10%$  

Therefore, the enrichment of the product is 1.10 %.

I hope it helps you!