• Geosciences Journal
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• 제22권6호
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• pp.1001-1013
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• 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.

• 기술혁신학회지
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• 제14권4호
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• pp.965-982
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• 2011

21세기는 20세기와 마찬가지로 인구증가와 경제성장으로 인해 에너지의 수요가 증가할 것으로 예측된다. 제한된 자원, 자원의 편중, 생산과 소비지역의 분리, 화석연료의 소비억제 등이 전망되면서 최근 에너지안보가 보다 중요해졌다. 반면 한국과 같은 자원 빈국은 자원과 해외 에너지에 대한 의존이 심화되고 있다. 중국의 급격한 경제 발전은 자원과 에너지 소비의 균형을 깨뜨리고 있다. 이로 인해 국가 에너지 경제의 불확실성이 점차 확대되고 있다. 이와 같은 국제환경의 변화로 인해 국가 주요 에너지원으로서의 원자력에너지는 어느 때 보다 중요해졌다. 한국 전력생산의 40%를 차지하는 원자력발전은 이에 필요한 연료인 농축우라늄을 전량 외국에서 수입하여 사용하고 있다. 그렇기 때문에 한국은 안정적으로 원전연료를 확보할 수 있는 대책 및 정책을 준비하는 등 불안정한 국제에너지 정세의 변화에 적극적으로 대비할 필요가 있다. 이를 위해서는 기본적으로 농축우라늄의 시장현황, 기존 생산기술에 대한 정보, 기술개발의 동향에 대한 분석이 선행되어야 할 것이다. 본 논문은 농축우라늄의 기존 생산 공정에 비해 2~3배의 우수한 경제성을 가진 것으로 알려져 있고 현재 미국에서 상용화 단계에 진입한 차세대 레이저 기반 저농축우라늄 생산공정을 분석했다. 이는 국내 원전연료의 수급대책 마련에 주요한 자료로 활용될 수 있을 것이다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제47권5호
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• pp.596-607
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• 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.

• 자원환경지질
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• 제19권spc호
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• pp.163-173
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• 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.

• 대한화학회지
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• 제38권7호
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• pp.502-508
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• 1994

염의 농도가 큰 시료용액중에 미량으로 함유되어 있는 U(VI)과 Th(VI)을 액상크로마토그래피로 동시에 분리, 정량하였다. 약 2ml의 시료를 pH5.5의 0.11M ${\alpha}$-HIBA 용리액과 함께 C_{18}$ 역상농축컬럼에 통과시켜 U(VI)과 Th(VI)을 농축시켰으며, 농축된 이들 원소들을 다시 비활성 C_{18}$ 역상분리컬럼에서 pH3.0의 0.17M ${\alpha}$-HIBA/0.0038 M 1-pentanesulfonate 용리액으로 각각 분리하였다. 분리된 이들 원소들은 Arsenazo III를 사용하는 postcolumn반응으로 검출되었으며, 검출한계는 두 원서 모두 1ppb이었다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제49권1호
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• pp.6-16
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• 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
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• 제50권5호
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• pp.794-800
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• 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
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• 제5권2호
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• pp.115-131
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• 1973

L.S. Pontryagin의 Maximum Principle과 수직방향을 고려하지 않은 2군 화산 방정식을 우라늄농축도 범위에 제한없이 원통형원자로의 최소 임계질량문제에 적용하였다. 핵연료 장전방법에 관한한 최적 원자로는 내심부와 외심부가 최소의 농축도를 갖고 중간영역은 최대의 농축도를 갖는 3-영역식 원자로인 것으로 밝혀졌다. 상기 3-영역식 원자로를 모델로 하여 임계조건을 유도하였으며, 또한 고리원자로를 예로하여 농축도를 여러가지로 변환시키면서 임계조건의 해를 구하는 수치해석을 수행하였다. 그 결과 여러가지 임계조건중 최소의 임계질량을 갖는 경우는 중간영역에서의 최대 농축도가 1.2%이고 내심부와 외심부에서의 농축도가 0.65%일때라는 것이 판명되었다.

• 방사선산업학회지
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• 제17권4호
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• pp.457-469
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• 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.

• 한국원자력학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국원자력학회 1995년도 추계학술발표회논문집(1)
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• pp.35-40
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• 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.