The Coal-Uranium Breeder: Uranium from coal

Evidence exists that much of the coal in the Western United States contains an appreciable amount of uranium. While not concentrated enough to be directly considered as a uranium resource, this uranium is enriched in the ash remaining after the coal is burned. Consequently, some coal ashes have concentrations of uranium which would classify them as intermediate-grade uranium ores (100–500 ppm). A combined facility, herein named a Coal-Uranium Breeder, which generated electricity or gas from coal and processed the ash to produce uranium could make available more nuclear energy than it consumed as fossil energy, depending on the reactor type and other variables. A considerable lessening of environmental impact is possible through the use of combined rather than separate coal plants and uranium mills. Potentially, a large fraction of U.S. uranium needs could be supplied at a reasonable cost and thus eliminate the apparent shortfall of sandstone uranium ores and delay the decision about the breeder reactor. More effort is needed to develop extraction techniques and to determine the uranium content of coals.