Different types of Uranium and its Energy Contents.

Uranium Atom, number 92 in the Periodic Table. In nature, uranium exist as a combination of the following isotopes in this constant ratio:

uranium-238 (99.284%), uranium-235 (0.711%), and a very small amount of uranium-234 (0.0058%).

These three different isotopes of Uranium always coincide together in Uranium Ore in the fractions as listed above. Please note: There are 16 other known isotopes. Uranium-238 is the parent substance of the 18member radioactive decay series known as the uranium series. The energy produced by radioactivity has important military and industrial applications. Some relatively long-lived members of this series include uranium-234, thorium-230, and radium-226; the final stable member of the series is lead-206. Uranium-235, also called actinouranium, is the parent substance of the so-called actinium series, a 15-member radioactive decay series ending in stable lead-207; protactinium-231 and actinium-227 are the relatively stable members of this series. Because the rate of decay in these series is constant, it is possible to estimate the age of uranium samples (e.g., minerals) from the relative amounts of parent substance and final product. There are two basic types of dating methods, for more: relative and absolute dating. Uranium-238 (U-238), is the most common isotope of uranium found in nature. When hit by a neutron, it becomes uranium-239 (U-239), an unstable isotope which decays into neptunium-239 (Np-239), which then itself decays, with a half-life of 2.355 days, into plutonium-239 (Pu-239). Uranium-235 (U-235) is an isotope of uranium that differs from the element's other common isotope, uranium-238, by its ability to cause a rapidly expanding fission chain reaction, i.e., it is fissile. It is the only fissile isotope found in any economic quantity in nature. It was discovered in 1935 by Arthur Jeffrey Dempster. Uranium-234 (U-234) is an isotope of Uranium. In natural uranium and uranium ore, U-234 occurs as an indirect decay product of U-238, but it makes up only 0.0055% of the raw uranium because its half-life of just 246,000 years is only about 1/18,000 as long as the half-life of U-238.

Uranium-234 doesn't have any industrial applications with the exception that is was sometimes used in indental fixtures such as crowns and den-tures to provide natural colour! It is the fissile isotope of Uranium-235 that is the fuel of most nuclear reactors. This page will not go into Plutonium because it is a by-product of the U-238 during the fission process in a reactor fueled by enriched Uranium. There it also produces about 30% of the energy, but as it is temporarily produced (as a by product) from U-238 during the fission process and in principle disappears again it is not of interest in respect to an un-renewable fuel sources. (For more please read: Plutonium by the World Nucleur Association. To make Uranium (remember it always exists naturally out of the following three atoms: uranium-238 (99.284%), uranium-235 (0.711%), and a very small amount of uranium-234 (0.0058%) fissile (only the uranium-235 is fissile) it is necesary to enrich the Uranium in such a way that the fraction of Uranium-235 increases to a concentration of 3 to 5 %. This enrichment process produces huge quantities of uranium that is depleted of uranium-235 and with a correspondingly increased fraction of uranium-238, called depleted uranium or 'DU'. To be considered 'depleted', the uranium-235 isotope concentration has to have been decreased to significantly less than its natural concentration. Please note: Due to its low radioacitvity depleted uranium has the following applications: 1) Due to its high density, about twice that of lead, the main civilian uses of DU include counterweights in aircraft, radiation shields in medical radiation therapy machines and containers for the transport of radioactive materials. The military uses DU for defensive armour plate. 2) DU is used in armour penetrating military ordnance because of its high density, and also because DU can ignite on impact if the temperature exceeds 600°C. For more information on the possible danger of depleted uranium use visit: the WHO and Greenpeace on Depleted Uranium
Global Resources and Reserves

Current economic uranium resources will last for over 100 years at current consumption rates, while it is expected there is twice that amount awaiting discovery. With reprocessing and recycling, the reserves are good for thousands of years. It is estimated that 5.5 million tons of uranium ore reserves are economically viable, while 35 million tons are classed as mineral resources (reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction). An additional 4.6 billion tons of uranium are estimated to be in sea water, read: Uranium extraction from seawater of the Mitsubishi Research Institute.

In the graph at the right are the identified Resources of Uranium reflected at an extraction cost of $ 130.00 per kg of Uranium. According the World Energy Council Uranium resources are plentiful and per se do not pose a limiting factor to future nuclear power development. As so often, the limiting factor is timely investment in new production capacities. The current reactor requirements and uranium production anomaly calls for significant mine development in order to turn 'uranium in the ground into yellowcake in the can'. Given that the lead times for turning uranium in the ground into yellowcake have become much longer than 30 years ago, global reactor requirements will continue to depend on secondary sources for another decade or so. Lets also consider the energy contents of Uranium compared with the other Un-renewable Energy Sources: Next page Global Uranium Reserves