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Texas A&M welcomes uranium conversion research
The Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) has signed a research agreement with Quantum Leap Energy (QLE) “to advance and de-risk the commercial production of high-purity uranium hexafluoride (UF6).”
QLE is an Austin, Texas–based subsidiary of ASP Isotopes (ASPI), which is developing an isotope enrichment platform for applications in nuclear energy, nuclear medicine, and semiconductors. QLE specializes in the uranium conversion step of the nuclear fuel cycle—the conversion of yellowcake uranium concentrate (U3O8) into UF6 prior to enrichment.
Thomas M. Miller, Paul Mueller, Kumar Mohindroo, Igor Remec
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 198 | Number 2 | February 2024 | Pages 435-450
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2023.2181027
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
At the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Second Target Station (STS) beamline sources for preliminary design have been used to perform a shielding analysis of the bunker. Prompt total effective dose rates (i.e., neutron plus photon effective dose rates when the proton beam is on) were calculated on top of the bunker roof and outside the bunker wall. These areas outside the bunker will be generally accessible, so the prompt total dose rate in these areas should not exceed 2.5 μSv‧h−1 (0.25 mrem‧h−1). This paper presents the required shielding thicknesses to meet this dose rate limit. In one instance, this dose rate limit is not met: For a combination of populated and unpopulated beamlines, the prompt total dose rate outside the bunker across from the unpopulated beamline, which has less shielding because of the lack of beamline shielding, slightly exceeds 2.5 μSv‧h−1. Once more details are known regarding the STS high-density concrete density and composition, a future analysis will investigate the shielding modifications required to reduce the calculated prompt total dose rates for this configuration to less than 2.5 μSv‧h−1.