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Potassium, the reaction product of graphite with potassium, and the reaction product of irradiated graphite with potassium were subjected to hydrolysis. The gases evolved from the respective samples were analyzed mass spectroscopically. Hydrocarbons (methane and a trace of ethane) were found in the gas evolved from the irradiated graphite compound only, and the quantity was about that which would have been expected from the number of non-aggregated displaced atoms. The result was obtained for a single set of experiments and must be considered suggestive rather than conclusive. (auth)

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This memorandum indicates the Purex-Plant pulse-column and pulse- generator revisions which would be required to assure an instantaneous capacity of 25 tons U/day with a 20% capacity safety margin under Purex HW {number_sign}3 Flowsheet conditions. (The use of the Purex HW {number_sign}4 Flowsheet (6) with the revised columns would be expected to increase the capacity to 29 or 30 tons U/day.) The indicated design changes are recorded here for study and for possible reference if need for increased production capacity should arise. No recommendation for adoption at this time is made.

In keeping with the announced goals for production at Hanford, a series of separations plant studies is being conducted with the objective of providing an insight into worthwhile design development goals both process and plant-wise. These studies will provide a basis for evaluation of research and development programs, with all cost estimates and other supporting information standardized, both in presentation and detail. These developments are vital to the future of separations plant planning in order that proper emphasis be placed on the most economic production facility for HAPO, should production planning require an additional major facility. This report is the second of a series, reporting on the design developments under way. The purposes of this document are to present the results of the second separations plant design study directed toward a new solvent extraction plant and to summarize process, plant, and equipment changes which should be developed to achieve the significant capital and operating cost reductions indicated.

This chapter presents the highlights of the fabrication and heat treatment of uranium with emphasis on HAPO type core material. For pile use three properties of uranium are of prime interest; grain size, type and degree of preferred orientation, and the mechanical properties.

Two types of ``feedstock,`` i.e. irradiated uranium and uranium from underground storage, are processed by the 200 Areas. Future operations may add irradiated thorium as a supplementary feed material. In either case, the major portion of future feedstocks is presumed to be in the form of irradiated metal, i.e. uranium and/or thorium, resulting in an almost complete dependence of the required 200 Area processing rate on reactor power levels and metal irradiation history. This document presents correlations by which predicted reactor power levels and production commitments for particular types of product may be easily converted to the required separations processing rates. Separations processing rates potentially resulting from low NGS plutonium and ``23`` commitments are given for the period through 1957.