Uranium-۲۳۵ is The Most important Material Required (For Fission and Energy Production)

Note: Uranium-235 is the most important material required for a nuclear reactor (for fission and energy production). But the problem is that uranium extracted from mines is a mixture of different isotopes, including two important and stable isotopes, uranium-235 and uranium-238.

So that the share of isotope 235 in this mixture is about seven tenths of a percent, and for it to be applicable in the nuclear industry, its concentration must be between 2 and 5 percent, so it is necessary to enrich it. Uranium isotopes can be separated to increase the ratio of one isotope to another. This process is called enrichment. Series connection of gas centrifuges in an enrichment plant  A centrifuge is a device that is used to separate materials from each other based on their weight. This device rotates materials at high speed around an axis, and the materials move away from the axis in proportion to their weight. In fact, this method uses the acceleration caused by centrifugal force to separate materials from each other. The general application of this device is to separate liquid from liquid or liquid from solid. Centrifuges used for uranium enrichment have a special mode that is prepared for gas, which is called Hyper-Centrifuge.

Before scientists used this method to enrich uranium, they used a special technology called Gaseous Diffusion. The rapidly rotating cylinder centrifuge produces a very strong centrifugal force, during which heavier molecules (those containing the uranium 238 isotope) rotate further away from the center of the axis of rotation, and conversely, those containing lighter molecules (containing the isotope (uranium 235) are more centered around the axis of the centrifuge. In uranium enrichment by the gas centrifuge method, a large number of rotating cylinders placed in parallel and series are used. Uranium enrichment is the process by which a natural uranium mass contains more of the isotope 235U and less of the isotope 238U. Uranium enrichment is one of the stages of the nuclear fuel cycle. Natural uranium (which is in the form of uranium oxide) contains 99.3% of the isotope 238U and 0.7% of 235U. The isotope 235U is fissile uranium and is suitable for nuclear electricity and nuclear power plants. The nuclear fuel cycle consists of various processes that lead to the conversion of "uranium ore" into fuel used in nuclear power plants. The set of these steps is called the nuclear fuel cycle, of which uranium enrichment is one step.

Conclusion :

Uranium-235 is the most important material required for a nuclear reactor (for fission and energy production). But the problem is that uranium extracted from mines is a mixture of different isotopes, including two important and stable isotopes, uranium-235 and uranium-238.