Oxygen Isotope Fractionation in U₃O₈ during Thermal Processing in Humid Atmospheres.

ABSTRACT: The incorporation of oxygen isotopes from water into uranium oxides during industrial processing presents a pathway for determining a material's geographical origin. This study is founded on the hypothesis that oxygen isotopes from atmospheric water vapor will exchange with isotopes of oxygen in solid uranium oxides during thermal processing or calcination. Using a commonly encountered oxide, U₃O₈, the exchange kinetics and equilibrium fractionation with water vapor (in a concentration range of 50-55% relative humidity) were investigated using processing temperatures of 400, 600, and 800 °C. In an atmosphere containing only water vapor diluted in N₂, oxygen isotope equilibration in U₃O₈ occurred within 12 h at 400 °C and within 2 h at

SUBMITTER: Klosterman MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8811886 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature