Highly enriched uranium (HEU), a core component of nuclear weapons, has been used for decades to power research reactors, produce medical isotopes and fuel naval submarines. Today, with a few exceptions, technical developments have made it possible to replace HEU with LEU in nearly all current uses and have rendered future new civil uses of HEU obsolete. Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute has developed a method of downblending HEU to LEU using an innovative atomization process that utilizes gravitational and centrifugal force to produce fuel in a regularly shaped, fine spherical powder form. Much of the world’s HEU fuel has been converted to LEU, but there are still civilian research reactors utilizing HEU fuel. Furthermore, converting HEU to LEU can also be a possible solution to obtaining the necessary HALEU fuel to support the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Programs.
