nuclear chemical engineering

nuclear chemical engineering

Nuclear chemical engineering

The branch of chemical engineering that deals with the production and use of radioisotopes, nuclear power generation, and the nuclear fuel cycle. A nuclear chemical engineer requires training in both nuclear and chemical engineering. As a nuclear engineer, he or she should be familiar with the nuclear reactions that take place in nuclear fission reactors and radioisotope production, with the properties of nuclear species important in nuclear fuels, with the properties of neutrons, gamma rays, and beta rays produced in nuclear reactors, and with the reaction, absorption, and attenuation of these radiations in the materials of reactors. See Nuclear fuels

As a chemical engineer, he or she should know the properties of materials important in nuclear reactors and the processes used to extract and purify these materials and convert them into the chemical compounds and physical forms used in nuclear systems. See Chemical engineering, Nuclear reactor

Aspects of nuclear reactors of concern to nuclear chemical engineers include production and purification of the uranium dioxide fuel, production of the hafnium-free zirconium tubing used for fuel cladding, and control of corrosion and radioactive corrosion products by chemical treatment of coolant. A chemical engineering aspect of heavy-water reactor operation is control of the radioactive tritium produced by neutron activation of deuterium. Aspects of liquid-metal fast-breeder reactors of concern to nuclear chemical engineers include fabrication of the mixed uranium dioxide-plutonium dioxide fuel, purity control of sodium coolant to prevent fouling and corrosion, and reprocessing of irradiated fuel to recover plutonium and uranium for recycle. See Nuclear fuel cycle