• Geosciences Journal
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.1001-1013
• /
• 2018

A new type of uranium occurrence in Korea was identified in pegmatitic and hydrothermally altered granite in the Daejeon area. The U-bearing parts typically include muscovite, pink-feldspar and sericite as alteration minerals. In this study, the geochemical characteristics and alteration age of the granitic rocks were examined to provide evidence for hydrothermally-enriched uranium. The K-Ar ages of muscovite coexisting with U-bearing minerals were determined as 123 and 128 Ma. The U-bearing rocks have relatively low ($CaO+Na_2O$), high $K_2O$ contents, and high alteration index values by major element geochemistry. The trace element geochemistry shows that the uraniferous rocks have significantly low Th/U ratios and strongly differentiated features. The rare earth element patterns indicate that the uraniferous rocks have a low total REE and LREE contents with depletion of Eu. Considering the geochemical variation of the granitic rock major, trace and rare earth elements, it can be concluded that uranium enrichment in pegmatites and altered granite should be genetically related to post-magmatic hydrothermal alteration of K-metasomatism after emplacement of the two-mica granite. This is the first report for geochemical characteristics of Mesozoic granite-related U-occurrences in South Korea. This study will help further research for uranium deposits with similarities in geological setting, mineralogy and age data between South China and Korea, and can also be expected to help solve the source problems related to high uranium concentrations in some groundwater occurring in the granitic terrane.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.965-982
• /
• 2011

Currently, dependency of natural and energy resources on world economy may not be more serious than any before increasing the uncertainty of Korea's national economy, especially as China uses unexpectedly fast glowing portion of world resources. Due to insufficient natural resources and unmatured renewable energy system, it is very important for Korea to secure the energy sources not only for national prosperity but also security for the future. In this regard, importance and necessity of nuclear energy as a major electric power source in Korea are in need to be emphasized. Korea currently imports all the necessary enriched uranium for fabrication of nuclear fuel from abroad. Thus, it is extremely important to establish a secured supply system for enriched uranium regardless of the global political unstability as well as economic fluctuation. In order to build the nuclear fuel procurement system, it is required to analyze the global market status, current enrichment service systems, and the future technology under development. For this purpose, this study comparatively analyzes the laser based advanced technology for uranium enrichment under development in the United States, which is assumed to be 2~3 times more economically viable than currently available technologies.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.47 no.5
• /
• pp.596-607
• /
• 2015

In this paper, we describe a computer program, iBEST (inverse Burnup ESTimator), that we developed to accurately estimate the burnup histories of spent nuclear fuels based on sample measurement data. The burnup history parameters include initial uranium enrichment, burnup, cooling time after discharge from reactor, and reactor type. The program uses algebraic equations derived using the simplified burnup chains of major actinides for initial estimations of burnup and uranium enrichment, and it uses the ORIGEN-S code to correct its initial estimations for improved accuracy. In addition, we newly developed a stable bisection method coupled with ORIGEN-S to correct burnup and enrichment values and implemented it in iBEST in order to fully take advantage of the new capabilities of ORIGEN-S for improving accuracy. The iBEST program was tested using several problems for verification and well-known realistic problems with measurement data from spent fuel samples from the Mihama-3 reactor for validation. The test results show that iBEST accurately estimates the burnup history parameters for the test problems and gives an acceptable level of accuracy for the realistic Mihama-3 problems.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.19 no.spc
• /
• pp.163-173
• /
• 1986

Black and graphite slates from the Okcheon metamorphic belt contain enriched values of uranium (average 200~250ppm) and molybdenum (average 150~200ppm). Uranium mineralization is closely associated with quartz and sulfide veinlets which are formed diagenetically in graphite slate. The uranium minerals were concentrated in outer part of graphite nodules. The ${\delta}^{13}C$ values of organic carbon from the metasediments including uranium bearing graphite slate range from -15.2 to -26.1‰ with a mean of -23.5‰. Meanwhile, ${\delta}^{13}C$ values of coal and coaly shale from some Paleozoic coal fields of South Korea vary from -19.4 to -23.9‰ with an average of -22.5‰. Isotopic compositions of vein calcite in uranium bearing slate range from -13.4 to -15.4‰ in ${\delta}^{13}C$ and +11.3 to +15.1‰ in ${\delta}^{18}O$ could indicate a reduced organic carbon source isotopically exchanged with a graphite of biogenic origin. Metamorphic temperature determined by a calcite-graphite isotope geothermometer was 383~$433^{\circ}C$ which corresponded to greenschist facies by Miyashiro (1973) and is consistent with metamorphic facies estimated by mineral assemblages (Lee, et al., 1981, and Kim, 1971). The fixation of uranyl species by carbonaceous matter in marine epicontinental environment, and remobilization of organouranium by diagenetic processes have attributed to the enrichment of uranium and heavy metals in the graphite slate of Okcheon metamorphic belt.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.38 no.7
• /
• pp.502-508
• /
• 1994

The measurement of trace amounts of uranium(VI) and thorium(VI) in the solutions containing high concentration of dissolved salts was carried out. The procedure using reversed phase liquid chromatography with trace enrichment techniques has been developed to cope with the high salt content of the samples. 2 ml of sample were passed through a small C_{18}$ reversed phase enrichment column with ${\alpha}$-HIBA eluent (0.11 M, pH 5.5) where the uranium and thorium were separated from other constituents and concentrated. The uranium and thorium were then backflushed from the column onto a deactivated C_{18}$ reversed phase analytical column where furthe separation was achieved with a mixed eluent (pH3.0, 0.17M ${\alpha}$-HIBA/0.0038 M 1-pentanesulfonate). The separated species were determined spectrophotometrically by postcolumn reaction with Arsenazo III, the chromogenic reagent. Detection limits were found within 1 ppb range for both species.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.49 no.1
• /
• pp.6-16
• /
• 2017

This study presents a coolant void reactivity analysis of Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU)-6 and Advanced Canada Deuterium Uranium Reactor-700 (ACR-700) fuel lattices using a Monte Carlo code. The reactivity changes when the coolant was voided were assessed in terms of the contributions of four factors and spectrum shifts. In the case of single bundle coolant voiding, the contribution of each of the four factors in the ACR-700 lattice is large in magnitude with opposite signs, and their summation becomes a negative reactivity effect in contrast to that of the CANDU-6 lattice. Unlike the coolant voiding in a single fuel bundle, the $2{\times}2$ checkerboard coolant voiding in the ACR-700 lattice shows a positive reactivity effect. The neutron current between the no-void and voided bundles, and the four factors of each bundle were analyzed to figure out the mechanism of the positive coolant void reactivity of the checkerboard voiding case. Through a sensitivity study of fuel enrichment, type of burnable absorber, and moderator to fuel volume ratio, a design strategy for the CANDU reactor was suggested in order to achieve a negative coolant void reactivity even for the checkerboard voiding case.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.50 no.5
• /
• pp.794-800
• /
• 2018

The proliferation resistance (PR) of Th/U and Th/Pu fuels used in CANada Deuterium Uranium for the deep geological repository was assessed by combining the multiattribute utility analysis proposed by Chirayath et al., 2015 with the transport model of radionuclides in the repository and comparing with that of the used natural U fuel case. It was found that there was no significant advantage for Th/U and Th/Pu fuels from the viewpoint of the PR in the repository. It was also found that the PR values for used nuclear fuels in the repository of Th/U, Th/Pu, and natural U was comparable with those for enrichment and reprocessing facilities in the pressurized water reactor (PWR) nuclear fuel cycle. On the other hand, the PR values considering the transport of radionuclides in the repository were found to be slightly smaller than those without their transport after the used nuclear fuels started dissolving after 1,000 years.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.115-131
• /
• 1973

L.S. Pontryagin's maximum principle is applied to the minimum critical mass problem without any restriction on the ranges of uranium enrichment. For the analysis, two group diffusion equation is adopted for a cylindrical reactor neglecting the vertical axis consideration. The result shows that the three-zoned reactor turns out to be most optimal: the inner and outer zones with the minimum enrichment ; whereas the middle 3one with the maximum enrichment. With the given three-zoned reactor, critical condition is derived, which leads to the calculation of the determinant. By finding the roots of the determinant the numerical calculation of the minimum critical mass is carried out for the case of Kori reactor geometry changing the minimum or the maximum enrichment. It is found from many computed values that the least possible critical mass turns out to be the case of 1.2% maximum enrichment for the middle zone and 0.65% minimum enrichment for the inner and out zones.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.457-469
• /
• 2023

The clearance level by nuclide is announced by the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission. However, the clearance level of uranium existing in nature has not been announced, and research is needed. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the clearance level of uranium nuclides appropriate to domestic conditions preliminary. For this purpose, this study selected major processes for recycling metal wastes and analyzed the exposure scenarios and major input factors by investigating the characteristics of each process. Then, the radiation dose to the general public and workers was evaluated according to the selected scenarios. Finally, the results of the radiation dose per unit radioactivity for each scenario were analyzed to derive the clearance level of uranium in metal waste. The results of the radiation dose assessment for both the general public and workers per unit radioactivity of uranium isotopes were shown to meet the allowable dose (individual dose of 10 µSv y^-1 and collective dose of 1 Man-Sv y^-1) regulated by the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission. The most conservative scenarios for volumetric and surface contamination were evaluated for the handling of the slag generated after the melting of the metal waste and the direct reuse of the contaminated metal waste into the building without further disposal. For each of these scenarios, the radioactivity concentration by uranium isotope was calculated, and the clearance level of uranium in metal waste was calculated through the radioactivity ratio by enrichment. The results of this study can be used as a basic data for defining the clearance level of uranium-contaminated radioactive waste.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
• /
• 1995.10a
• /
• pp.35-40
• /
• 1995

Considering the higher discharge burnup, lower channel refuelling rate, lower linear element rating(LER), lower coolant void reactivity and axial power shape, CANFLEX-RU fuel bundle is optimized for CANDU-6 by grading the fissile composition in the ring-wise of the bundle and by applying fuel management scheme appropriately. The fissile composition of the fuel bundle is graded as the recovered uranium (0.9 w/o U-235) in the outer and intermediate elements, depleted Uranium (0.2 w/o U-235) in the center element, natural uranium (0.71 w/o U-235) in the inner elements. Enrichment is not required for these fuel. The fissile composition is optimized by lattice calculation and by time-averaged reactor simulation. CANFLEX-RU optimized for CANDU-6 resulted to be the 15% lower channel refuelling rate, acceptable axial power profile and power envelope, 70% higher discharge burnup, 15% lower LER and not increase coolant void reactivity compared with the 37-element natural uranium bundle for CANDU-6.