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Uranium oxide is an oxide of the element uranium. The metal uranium forms several oxides: Uranium dioxide or uranium(IV) oxide (UO 2 , the mineral uraninite or pitchblende)
Uranium compounds are compounds formed by the element uranium (U). Although uranium is a radioactive actinide, its compounds are well studied due to its long half-life and its applications. It usually forms in the +4 and +6 oxidation states, although it can also form in other oxidation states.
Uranium dioxide or uranium(IV) oxide (UO 2), also known as urania or uranous oxide, is an oxide of uranium, and is a black, radioactive, crystalline powder that naturally occurs in the mineral uraninite. It is used in nuclear fuel rods in nuclear reactors. A mixture of uranium and plutonium dioxides is used as MOX fuel.
For natural uranium fuel, fissile component starts at 0.7% 235 U concentration in natural uranium. At discharge, total fissile component is still 0.5% (0.2% 235 U, 0.3% fissile 239 Pu, 241 Pu ). Fuel is discharged not because fissile material is fully used-up, but because the neutron-absorbing fission products have built up and the fuel becomes ...
The use of pitchblende, uranium in its natural oxide form, dates back to at least the year 79 AD, when it was used in the Roman Empire to add a yellow color to ceramic glazes. [12] Yellow glass with 1% uranium oxide was found in a Roman villa on Cape Posillipo in the Bay of Naples, Italy, by R. T. Gunther of the University of Oxford in 1912. [29]
The uranium to zirconium ratio in different parts of the solid differs a lot, in the brown lava a uranium-rich phase with a U:Zr ratio of 19:3 to about 19:5 is found. The uranium-poor phase in the brown lava has a U:Zr ratio of about 1:10. [37] It is possible from the examination of the Zr/U phases to determine the thermal history of the mixture.
A collection of uranium glassware. ADU is an intermediate in the production of uranium oxides to be used as nuclear fuel; it is converted directly into an oxide by heating. β-UO 3 is produced at about 350 °C and U 3 O 8 is obtained at higher temperatures. When the alkali used is sodium hydroxide, so-called sodium diuranate, SDU, is produced.
Uraninite, also known as pitchblende, is a radioactive, uranium-rich mineral and ore with a chemical composition that is largely UO 2 but because of oxidation typically contains variable proportions of U 3 O 8. Radioactive decay of the uranium causes the mineral to contain oxides of lead and trace amounts of helium.