Nuclear Fuel Cycle - with focus on fuel production

Knowledge about production of nuclear fuel is important from a nuclear forensic perspective. The different techniques used in the nuclear fuel cycle leave different traces or signatures which can explain the origin of the uranium as well as the production processes used to produce uranium nuclear fuel. Increased knowledge about the nuclear fuel cycle may also contribute to the possibility to find new nuclear forensic signatures. This report is written out of a chemical and technical perspective and describes the general process steps used in the production of uranium nuclear fuel. At the end of the report there is an introduction to nuclear fuel for the next generation reactors, i.e. generation IV.