Uranium Enrichment Methods and Implications on Middle East Countries

Scientific Essay from the year 2018 in the subject Engineering - Nuclear Engineering, grade: 4, University of California, Santa Cruz, language: English, abstract: This paper is a Journal Scientific paper analyzing various methods of Uranium enrichment explaining how this leads to either Nuclear reactor fuel feed material or Nuclear Weapons. Enrichment of Uranium is the basis for the production of fissile material 235U and since it is a well proven process it is preferred by the industry. The methods to be used for enrichment are Gaseous diffusion, Electromagnetic enrichment, aerodynamic nozzle separation, centrifuge enrichment and finally enrichment from lasers like AVLIS, SILEX and MLIS. Out of the five methods the gas centrifuge is the most favorable one and can be done by centrifuges in line cascading. Centrifuging is made by a dense called gas centrifuge UF6 and is based on the physics of accelerating molecules in a gaseous diffusion. This is done by centrifugal forces which separate the lighter from heavier atoms. Uranium enrichment and plutonium/uranium separation besides creation of nuclear fuel for nuclear plants can also be used in creating nuclear weapons and the paper will address this issue. It will also try to give some answers in the nuclear programs of some Middle East countries like Iran and Israel. It will not debate in political terms nuclear capabilities but will only mention technical facts received from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations. The paper is written in standard IEEE form and is addressed to those with an elementary to medium knowledge of science who are interested in knowing what uranium enrichment is and how this can lead in the creation of either nuclear fuel or nuclear weapons.