MH Puts Wraps on Reactive Materials
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PRODUCTION ΜΗ Puts Wraps on Reactive Materials Metal Hydrides' pilot plant refines and packages zirconium hydride JVLETAL HYDRIDES' engineers have come up with an inert-atmosphere pilot plant to refine and package highly re- active materials. The three-tier, glove box affair was developed specifically to pulverize, separate, and package zir- conium hydride—all in an inert argon atmosphere. But it works for mostly any air-sensitive or reactive metal or material, such as uranium, zirconium, and the alkali and alkaline earth metals, M H says. Now the unit is available under MH licensing arrangements. The M H installation can handle a 200 pound charge at a time, and, with two operators, can turn out several hundred pounds of product per eight- hour shift, the company points out. Safetv is another feature: Product feeds are entirely automatic, and two air-tight locks prevent any air exchange in the plant atmosphere during loading and unloading. Development of the unit, which resembles a giant device from a robot horror film, paralleled the development of MH's higher purity zirconium products for atomic reactors and commercial application. A Metal Hydrides team loads the unit from the retort (bottom left). Technician at left operates the air-tight chamber, through which he will draw the contents of the retort for processing. Another operator (upper right) works the second level stage; he adjusts the automatic pulverizer unit. Third stage in the process is packaging the product (lower right).
Transcript of MH Puts Wraps on Reactive Materials
PRODUCTION
Μ Η Puts Wraps on Reactive Materials
Metal Hydrides' pilot plant refines and packages zirconium hydride
JVLETAL HYDRIDES' engineers have come up with an inert-atmosphere pilot plant to refine and package highly reactive materials. The three-tier, glove box affair was developed specifically to pulverize, separate, and package zirconium hydride—all in an inert argon atmosphere. But it works for mostly any air-sensitive or reactive metal or material, such as uranium, zirconium, and the alkali and alkaline earth metals, M H says. Now the unit is available under MH licensing arrangements.
The M H installation can handle a 200 pound charge at a time, and, with two operators, can turn out several hundred pounds of product per eight-hour shift, the company points out. Safetv is another feature: Product
feeds are entirely automatic, and two air-tight locks prevent any air exchange in the plant atmosphere during loading and unloading. Development of the unit, which resembles a giant device from a robot horror film, paralleled the development of MH's higher purity zirconium products for atomic reactors and commercial application.
A Metal Hydrides team loads the unit from the retort (bottom left). Technician at left operates the air-tight chamber, through which he will draw the contents of the retort for processing. Another operator (upper right) works the second level stage; he adjusts the automatic pulverizer unit. Third stage in the process is packaging the product (lower right).
