Fuel For Nuclear Energy
Just like coal, we can harness the energy of nuclear fission in a power plant. Instead of heating water by burning coal, the nuclear fission reactions produce the energy needed to heat water, boil it, and produce steam. The steam then turns a turbine, just like in a coal-burning power plant.
Uranium 238 (U-238) and uranium 235 (U-235) are the most common isotopes used as fuel to power a nuclear power plant. Before the fuel is used, it has to undergo a few processing steps. Click each image to learn about these steps.
The uranium is first mined, or dug out of the ground. Uranium is one of Earth’s most abundant minerals and is found throughout the world.
The mined uranium is leached with solvents to get yellowcake, which is simply a powdered form of uranium oxide.
The yellowcake is then subjected to chemical reactions that convert it to uranium hexafluoride, which is then loaded into cylinders. Uranium hexafluoride contains little of the uranium 235 (U-235) isotope. The uranium hexafluoride is enriched to increase its amount of U-235. This makes it more suitable for starting a fission chain reaction.
The enriched uranium is then processed into long tubes and bunched together in what are called fuel assemblies. The fuel assemblies are then sent to the nuclear power plant.
