Improvements in apparatus for the manufacture of uranium fluoride

1,137,494. Uranium fluoride. COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE. 21 Dec., 1965 [12 Jan., 1965], No. 54032/65. Heading C1A. Apparatus for the manufacture of uranium fluoride by the reaction of hydrofluoric acid gas (HF) with uranium oxide (UO 2 ) comprises a furnace and a cooling zone through which the gas and oxide flow in counter-current, the cooling zone being downstream of the furnace in the direction of HF flow and having a temperature which is sufficiently lower than the furnace temperature to ensure the absorption of residual HF gas, and further comprises means for controlling the rate of feed of HF gas to the furnace or the rate of flow of uranium oxide, in accordance with the uranium oxide entering the cooling zone, to cause the apparatus continuously to produce an optinum yield of uranium fluoride. In a preferred form (Figs. 1-3, not shown) a main vertical furnace is connected to a horizontal extraction furnace, the HF gas being introduced both into the extraction furnace and the base of the vertical furnace, the rate of feed of the gas into the extraction furnace being fixed at a constant value, and the rate of feed into the vertical furnace being determined by the controlling means. Above the vertical furnace there may be disposed an intermediate zone of lower temperature than the vertical furnace, this zone having disposed above it a cooling sleeve constituting the cooling zone, the controlling means being actuated by signals originated by a pyrometer in the end of the sleeve through which the UO 2 is introduced. The vertical furnace may be at 500-600‹ C. the intermediate zone at 400- 500‹ C. and the cooling zone in two steps down to 200‹ C. The apparatus may include a reduction furnace in which granular UO 3 is transformed at 600-700‹ C. under the action of hydrogen and or ammonia, into UO 2 which is fed to the main furnace.