How is uranium prepared for use in a nuclear reactor?
Like other fuels, uranium ore is processed before it is used in power plants to produce electricity. Uranium ore goes to a mill after mining. At the mill, the uranium ore is crushed and ground into a fine sand. Then it is dumped into acid tanks. The acid dissolves the uranium mineral, leaving behind the sand-like crushed rock. The crushed rock is called tailings, and this process is called leaching. The acid solution is drained and treated to remove the uranium. The next step is to refine and purify the material into a uranium compound called yellowcake and convert it into gaseous uranium hexafluoride. Enriching the uranium hexafluoride increases the uranium atoms that fission easily and makes the fuel more efficient. The enriched uranium is taken to a fuel fabrication plant and converted from a gas to uranium dioxide powder. The powder is pressed into small cylindrical ceramic pellets. They are then ground to a specific size. These pellets later become fuel in a nuclear reactor.
