Abstract : The carboreduction of uranium UO3 into uranium dioxide UO2 has been studied using two distinct mixtures of uranium trioxide and carbon powders, containing an excess of carbon (C/U=3 mole ratio). The specific surface area and the porous distribution of these mixtures were characterized by nitrogen adsorption, and thermogravimetry experiments were performed under flowing helium, up to 900°C, in order to characterize the reactivity of the mixtures. The course of the carbothermal reduction depends on the texture and the physical mixture of uranium trioxide and carbon: optimal reduction was obtained after a slight manual grinding of the initial mixture (UO3 + 3C), which improved the contact between uranium trioxide and carbon.
Florence Poncet, Françoise Valdivieso, Michèle Pijolat. Influence of texture and physical mixture of UO3 and C powders for carbothermal reduction. 9th CIMTEC, World Ceramics Congress, Jun 1998, Florence, Italy. ⟨emse-00787333⟩