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Nuclear Materials

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Materials for energy generation applications are becoming more critical as society looks towards alternative means of power beyond fossil fuel-based methods. Harper has been a critical partner for nuclear fuel processing furnaces and kilns for decades to companies developing new energy generation technologies and optimizing their existing operations.
Since 1957 when the first nuclear fuel sintering furnace for General Electric was produced, Harper has become the world’s leading provider of customized systems offering a range of advancements in energy efficiency, temperature uniformity, maintenance, and safety control. Typical applications for nuclear fuel processing include:

  • Sintering UO2 pellets for reactor fuel rods
  • Oxidation UO2 pellets, swarf, and powder to U3O8
  • Denitration of Uranyl nitrate
  • Hydroflourination of UO2 pellets
  • Waste remediation

Harper’s engineering practices provide for robust, efficient designs. For nuclear fuel processing, reliability is of the utmost importance, which is why our energy efficient systems have well proven insulation packages catered to the process and furnace requirements. Harper’s furnaces and kilns can include baffles and other features to reduce end tube radiation loss to improve the energy efficiency. Rotary systems often provide great energy efficient value since there is no carrier load which requires energy to heat and cool the boat or product tray.

As the utilization of energy generation materials continues to grow, Harper aims to enable companies in the optimization of their production processes. Our dedicated Pulse™ service team’s experience in rebuilds, retrofits, upgrades and process analysis/optimization can help drive improvements for a customer’s operational efficiency and effectiveness.  As always, we aim to devise a turnkey solution with a range of offerings including gas treatment and handling and  fully integrated control systems to provide a total package.

Technology Solutions for Nuclear Materials

Rotary Tube Furnaces

Pusher Furnaces