A Glimpse of Nuclear Fuel

The Department of Atomic Energy was established in 1954 by Presidential order. Since then, DAE has been engaged in the development of nuclear power technology as well as applications of radiation technologies in the fields of agriculture, medicine, industry and basic research. DAE comprises five research centres, three industrial organisations, five public sector undertakings and three service organisations, all with the aim of developing and excelling in nuclear power and related technologies.

Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) has been one of the Department of Atomic Energy's important units for more than 50 years. The primary role of UCIL is related to the mining of Uranium ore at various locations of India and its further mineral processing. The main types of mining in India are open cast mining, i.e. surface mining and underground mining. Many people aren’t aware of the series of chemical processes that are involved in the mineral processing of the ore. These include crushing, dewatering, grinding, leaching, clarification, precipitation, ion exchange, drying, etc. Leaching is the primary chemical process involved here. Leaching is the process of a solute becoming detached or extracted from its carrier substance through a solvent. There are 4 types of leaching, and which one to use is decided based on the characteristics of the ore in question. For uranium ore, alkali and acid leaching are used.

So where in India are these Uranium mines? Well, some of you might be surprised to learn that one of the largest uranium ore reserves in India is not that far from our institute; 212 KM’s to be exact, at Tummalapalle in Kadapa (YSR) District of Andhra Pradesh. Hope I didn’t make some of you paranoid about radiation exposure now. Jokes aside, mining and processing of any ore, especially uranium is one that requires expertise in various fields of science and engineering, from geology to physics to civil to chemistry! A lot of heavy equipment is used too, requiring expert mechanical and instrumentation engineers. Jaw crushers, cone crushers, horizontal belt filters, thickeners, belt conveyors, double hose diaphragm pumps, spiral heat exchangers, rod mill, ball mill, hydro cyclones, drum filters, bag filters, boilers, press filters, evaporators, centrifuge, dryer, ion exchanger… you get the point. Mining requires both money and expertise.

So if mining is such a complicated process, why do it? Well, Uranium is the primary nuclear fuel for reactors. These reactors in turn produce electricity in nuclear power plants. Although uranium ore reserves available in India are of low grade, we do have a sufficient amount of thorium ore reserves, mainly in the coastal regions. Thus, India has always been particularly interested and has worked towards establishing thorium as a nuclear fuel. Uranium, however, still remains the number one fuel used in our nuclear power plants. Thus, UCIL strives to achieve its goals of improving the efficiency and productivity of its mines, plants and related infrastructure by continual development and implementation of cost-effective, safe and environmentally friendly technologies.