Portsmouth, Paducah Conversion Facilities to Return to Full Operations

A view of the Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Conversion Facility at the Paducah Site. After completing upgrades, the plant safely returned to operations this year.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management's plants that convert depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) to more stable compounds recently returned to full operations at both the Portsmouth and Paducah sites' first-of-a-kind facilities.

"The successful restarts were achieved by our workforce through careful and deliberate adherence to conduct of operations, while also continuing to improve the plants through implementing multiple plant upgrades, setting us up for continued success in the years ahead," said Zak Lafontaine, DUF6 lead for the Portsmouth Paducah Project Office in Lexington. "This recent experience sets a new benchmark for excellence in operational reliability for the project."

Recent plant upgrades include enhanced process control systems, upgraded uranium hexafluoride flowmeters and the implementation of a new process data historian. Safely restarting nuclear facilities after being shut down takes hard work and a safe, conservative approach.

Portsmouth Site Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Facility team members gather in the control room before restarting the plant after a successful outage earlier this year.

The upgraded control systems replaced the plant's original system, offering improved reliability and security. The new flowmeters enhance the accuracy of uranium hexafluoride flow rates, facilitating better process control and reducing downtime caused by poor oxide powder quality.

Additionally, the historian collects and analyzes operational data, providing insights that help manage plant operations, troubleshoot equipment issues and optimize processes. These interrelated upgrades are expected to drive continued success for the plants in the future.

The Paducah Site in Kentucky recently exceeded a project record by running all four conversion lines continuously for 41 straight days, demonstrating the benefits of the recent improvements as well as the determination and focus of the DUF6 team.

"This is an exciting time for us at DUF6," said Dutch Conrad, project manager for Mid-America Conversion Services, the DUF6 operations and maintenance contractor. "Our team has worked diligently to bring both plants back online safely and efficiently."

The Portsmouth Site in Ohio recently completed a successful planned maintenance outage, during which plant upgrades were implemented seamlessly, while maintaining a world-class safety record and surpassing 4.5 years without a lost-time injury.

Commissioned in 2010 and 2011, the DUF6 facilities convert the decades' worth of enrichment byproducts from the former Paducah, Portsmouth and Oak Ridge, Tennessee, gaseous diffusion plants. The resulting materials are depleted uranium oxide and aqueous hydrofluoric acid for safe reuse or disposal.

-Contributor: Kearney Canter