4. PWR fuel fabrication

4.1 Enriched UO2 powder

Uranium is generally made available to the manufacturer by the electricity customer; it arrives in the form of enriched hexafluoride (UF ₆ ), in cylindrical containers containing around 2.2 tonnes of UF ₆ .

To go from hexafluoride (solid up to around 60°C) to uranium oxide powder (UO ₂ ) two routes are possible, the chemical route and the so-called dry route, with several variants for each.