Manhattan District History; Book II - Gaseous Diffusion (K-25) Project; Vol. I - General Features (redacted)

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^ C la s s ific a tio n R etained ^ C la s s ific a tio n Cancelled

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mim mu district history BOOK II - GASEOUS DIFFUSION (K-25) PROJECT do cum mi tThl* ..ted data, as defitrag la ajiy m ajusett tf»

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This introductory voltrao presents a general discussion of tho main features of the Gaseous Diffusion (K-25) Project, The purpose of tho Project, authorisation, theoretical foundations, preliminary planning, safety end security aspects, coats, End administrative 0rf5a.nizat2.0n aro treated, and a brief overall do aoription is given, with as indication of scop© end magnitude, as well as a statement of problems posed by the decision to utilise the method of gaseous dif» fusion* Tho various aspects, eo listed below, aro dealt with briefly* In general, when greater detail is desired, referonco should be oade to succeeding volleys of Book II as follows# Activities described in Volunse X extend fror. tho earliest CGED contracts, a©(satiated i n July 1941, for the study of tfoe diffusion process, to 51 Deeecsber 1946, e*v which tirae all basic phases of the K-25 progress of research, design, and construction had been effectively completed, the gaseous diffusion plant existed as an operating entity* and administrative responsibility passed from the Manhattan District to the Unitod States Atomic Energy Cossrdaaion, Tho tana, HK-2£5 Project1’ Diffusion Project*1* The K»*27 plant addition io ■vierjod as a supple mentary portion of the K~2C process plant. Ho net? basic principles are involved in K-27, and its discussion is interlocked with that of tho original phases of the Project throughout the course of Ik>ol: II,

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A nuober of appendices are attached to illustrate the text of this voluno by neans of nape, organisation cliartc, and a poreon.no1 13i0 Summry contains on abstract of every major subject troatod in Voluno 1* Paragraph numbers in the Sumnary correspond to section A detailed doscriptive account of tho K-25 Project Tdth special enphasis on dooifTi and development has boon prepared by tho Eellox Hogerton, and J* E* Arnold* Oils report has provided an outstanding source of refaronoe during tho preparation of tho present work* Boro extensive treafeaent of the design and engineering underlining nany of tt'O subjects discussed in Book II m y be found by consulting the

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MANHATTAN DISTRICT HISTORY BOOK II - GASEOUS DIFFUSION (iv-25) PROJECT VOLUME 1 - GENERAL FEATURES TABLE OF CONTESTS Par. Ko. Page No. a. Separation of Isotopes 2.2 2-3 Application of Theory " 2 . 3 SECTION 3 - PLANNING OF THE PROJECT r < 3-3 Design and Engineering 3,3

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4-1 Description of Site 4-2 Description of Facilities (1) lain Process Buildings (S) Auxiliary Process Facilities (£) Fluorine Plant and Disposal Dye ton (4) Auxiliary Stoop. Plant c» Power Plant Area d , Adnini ctratien Area 4~G Sleo of tho Project bp Size of the Plant 5-10 Preparation of Plant Site SBCTIOK 6 - SAFETY AMD SECURITY

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Project was the large scale, miti-stage separation of' Uraniuf5>»235 fron the more abundant non-f ise icnablt; Branius-238 by utilization of the principle of molecular effusion* the eospleto novelty, both of the nanuprogram of fuadasjental research, developiasst, engineering, desire* con struction, end operatic®., involvinr* a larre maabsr of university and industrial eontractors# Basic authorization m s obtained fron the Of Scientific liesearch and Pevelopiaeat (OSRD), and the Military Policy Coia-r.ittoe, liajor Qeneral L# H* Orovas directed the general policies ttador which the Manhattan District carried an the work* the phonoaeaon of nuclear fission in uraniucu It m s subsequently realized that the fission reaction m s due to the m r i ® isotope cf atonic welpht 2S5, and that the reaction oould probably be cade to sus tain itself as a chain reaction with the rapid release of tremendous quantities of energy* The problem m o therefore presented of eoncent rating t:rar.ium-*2£5, which exists in natural uraniuD only to the extent ence in the aton&e msoes of B**230 and 0-253* which difference m iat forta the basis of the operating process* The ncthod of paseous diffusion is based upon the estperisenial finding of Sioraas Gratoata in 1829 that the rate of effusion of gases through snail apertures is inversely pro-

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portienal <tb their nolecular laei^hts# Tho only knowa feasible working substance lor the proooss m s uraniun hox&fluorido* t?Fs# «5iioh can be easily volatilised* The process equipment installed lit K-25 consists of each stage is subdivided into a cooler and "diffuser** • Tho diffuser la & tank-like piece- of equipment which encloses the "barrier** the barrier is the heart of the process, and consists of a thin, porous* Eetallic membrane containing billions of oubniorosoopic openSxigs per square inch, The stage ®B punn” supplies the converter continuously with undiffused gas from the stage above, raised with diffused pas fron the stage belosr* The cooler removes the heat of punning and sj&int&itss a constant operating tenperature* Conditions are so arranged that half of tbs gee fed to •fee converter diffuses through the barrier# becoming slightly enriched in concentration of tee lighter comonent in accordance with Cuban's tm?, and is delivered by the stags ®A ptsr>" to the nert higher stage. The renaining half leaves the converter, passes throurdi the control valve, tshich maintains a constant converter operating pres sure, and enters the suction of the next lotsor ctage!,B ?ued/!' Product EH ter Sal ic withdraw fron tho MtopH of the cascade. Depleted waste leaves at the ,tbottontt* OEKfcr-lOO m s aoardod to Colun&Sa University, providing for investigation, of the raothod of gaseous diffusion a 3 applied to uranlun isotope sepa ration* Contract 0EMsr-406 wao nest aisarded to the II. W* Kellogg Coapeny for further exporiaental and engineering investigation* After the prc~ lininary production plant program ted been reviewed by the OGPJ) S»1

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Executive Committee and the Reassessment and Reviewing Committee, it v>as decided to construct a 46OO stage plant to produce 1 kilogram per day of U-235 at a concentration of 90 per cent. Arrangements for the work were concluded in secret letter contract Vi'-74G5-eng-23 awarded to the I-'. W. Kellogg Company on 14 December 1942. For security and accounting reasons, Kellogg created a totally-owned subsidiary, The Kellex Corpo ration, which was to be wholly devoted to the K-2 5 undertaking. Funda mental research was carried on at the SAM Laboratories of Columbia University under OSED contracts OMsr-106 and OEMsr-412, and, after 1 May '1943, under Manhattan District contract W-7405-eng-50. On 1 February 1945, responsibility for the SAM Laboratories m s transferred to the Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation under a modification of con tract W-7405-eng-26. The Kellex contract W-7405-eng-23 also called for extensive research and development, as well as stipulating that that corporation have overall responsibility for planning, engineering, design, and development of the Project. A number of specific phases of the research program wore assigned to various other laboratories as subcontractors. A large number of additional firms participated in the immense design and engineering program, under general Kellex supervision. British assistance was also obtained on various theoretical m d design, problems. After a thorough review of all phases of the Project from the standpoint of cost, completion dates, performance, and capabilities of possible plants, it was decided on 18 August 19^? construct a plant to produce material at an isotopic concentration of 36.6 per cent U-235, and on 31 March 1945 the "K-2? Plant11, a side feed addition plant, was authorised, in order to increase the production capacity of K-25.

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Diffusion plant construction was accomplished principally by the J. A. Jones Construction Company (contract ?;-74£l-eng~ll), and Ford, Baeory and Davis* Inc. (contract ?!?-7407-eng-19)* each under the supervision of Kellex, and each assisted by numerous subcontractors. Operated prin cipally by the Carbide and Carbon Chemicals Corporation under contract '&-7405-eng-26, the plant has been in production since March 1945. 4. Description of the Project. - The K-25 production plant is located at the northwest comer of the Clinton Engineer Works military reservation. The process area includes the main cascade of 2892 stages, housed in a series of 51 contiguous buildings arranged to fora a single large ttU t!~shaped structure. Each building is subdivided into from three to fourteen six-stage ncells'1 which are the smallest individually operable units. Auxiliary facilities include systems for feed purifi cation, purging, surge and waste handling, process gas recovery, and product removal. Service installations are also provided for mainte nance facilities, and for supplying compressed air, specially dried air, cooling water, and special coolant, in accordance with process require ments. The conditioning area includes principally the conditioning building, in which a large number of cleaning, fluorinating, and maintenance operations are carried on. A sizeable florlne generation plant is also located within this area, together with a disposal unit for spent conditioning gas, a nitrogen vaporization system, and a 270,000 pound per hour low pressure steam plant? The power plant area includes a boiler house for three 750,000 pound per hour coal-fired units designed to produce steam at 1325 pounds per square inch and

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of 238,000 K?«, e storage yard for 250,000 tons of coal, and euitable switch house and pump house facilities. The administration area in cludes miscellaneous office buildings, laboratories, station houses, & cafeteria, a dispensary, and a laundry. The L-27 Area is a strucurally separate annex to the /sain process area, consisting of a 540stage cascade complete with auxiliary facilities, and so connected Kith the Bain buildings as to form a "cascade of cascades". Some times referred to as "the largest physico-chemical process in the world", the K—25 plant represents the fruition of a research, de velopment, design, and manufacturing program which was spread through out the nation. The greater plant area encompasses some 5Q00 ecres. The cascade "0" is one mile in perimeter and one quarter mile across. The size of the installation, which had required 60,000 carloads of equipment and supplies as of 1 January 1946, is typified by the following: the plant contains 7 ,500,000 square feet of geometric barrier area, 8,700 process and coolant pumps, 100 miles of process piping, 130,000 specially engineered instruments, and 500,000 valves. Auxiliary facilities include one of the largest dry air installations ever constructed and a 170,000,000 gallon per day cooling water plant. The power plant is the largest steam-electric station ever constructed in a single operation, and a 200,000 gallon plant inventory is maintained of specially developed process coolant. Major Problems. — A host of problems of unparalleled scope • and complexity were inherent in the K-25 program. Outstanding amoung these were the evolution, development, and large scale production of ^ barrier, a totally novel and highly specialized material. | DI LETEI)

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/ Tho factor of corrosion was a dominant considoration throughout tho coureo of the program, In order to minimize t5-,e offoots of barrier plugging, proceoe {p.c consumption, prooecs etroan contamination, ana equipment deterioration, elaborate pro cautions woro taken at the K-25 plant, and at many of the points of equipment fabrication. The aggressiveness of tho process gxc was multiplied by the large volimes to be handled at elevated temperature, end by tho treasndous exposed surface areas within the plant. Cleaning and conditioning procoduroc, cot up to prevent contamination of the process ctreom, to re based upon specifications approaching those of a hospital Burgery T?ard. Leakage of atmospheric air into the process eystom \Tould be of such disastrous effect in terms of UF^ consumption, streamy dilution, and barrier plugging by tho non-volatile reaction products of UFg trfth atmospheric moisture, that it became necessary to insure that absolutely no atmospheric air could find Its «ay into the system. Unique tifitness features had to bo incorporated in all process equip ment, inciting special leahproof raiding, a specially designed triplex pump seal, and a dry air enclosure around the entire process system of 6,000,000 cubic feet volume. Special pump3, converters, valves, and instructs wore required in largo quantities, and a number of epeoial highly fluorinated, inert chemicals had to bo ncr/ly developed* In order to carry an’, estimted design load of- 193,000 Ku, it m s required tfiat a hifdily reliable and uninterrupted source of povror bo available,

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distributed anon'’ a number of specified frequencies, each variable and subject to close control* Bio special haeard introduced by the fissionablo nature of tho Gubstanoo in process called for careful and thorough eafot$r checks on designs of equipment and methods of procedure in order to olirdmto completely any possibility of approaching the critical m o o . Finally, tho preparation of the plant site called for tlie levelling of cany acres of hilly terrain, Tbe raethod of ’’compacted £111” was sclectod, It is a relatively m vr concept for building con struction, and involved careful analysis, adjustment, and oontrol of uniformity of moisture content in g o es? 2,800,000 cubic yards of cut and nodical program w f a set up and carried out in accordance rritli standard District procedures, 7# Costs, - As of the end of fee fiscal year 19<LC, total coots attributable to the E-25 Project amounted to v5Es2,46G,92G, and tho current estimate for total costs at correlation of contracts m s 0, Orpanigstlon ami Personnel, - The K-25 Project v&s headed by an Officer-in-Charge, or Unit Chief, reporting to tho llanbattan District Bngineor, Reporting to tho Unit Chief %ore the Uevr Y ork Area Engineer, Tsho adsinSstored design contracts, tho Columbia Area Engineer, Viho adninistored research contracts, and Construction and Operations Offloers stationed at tho cl to. The Itov; York Area m e assisted by throe sub-areas located in Decatur, Illinois; Detroit, Hichiganj and Ililmukoe, Wisconsin# Hie JTadioon Square Area., reporting directly to tho

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BOOK II - GASEOUS DIFFUSION (K-26) PROJECT VOLUIS 1 - GBBBRAJ. FEATURES 1-1. Purpose, - Tho purpose of* the ffeseouo Diffusion (K-25) Project was to accomplish the concentration of Uranlun-255 on a largo scale, A production plant t&8 to ba engineered and built to handle a volatile, uraniura-containing prooosc mterial in tho gaseoxis eta to, and utilize tho principle of nolecular effusion so as to effoot the sepa tho ueo of a ion" series of diffusion stages, in each of which a alight 1-2* Scope, ~ In order to accomplish this objective, a xaa^or program of fundamental research* developiaont, engineering, design, construction, and operation was undertaken, Industrially* gaseous diffusion represented an entirely nenv and untried unit operation. Moreover, the prooosc mtorial m s a new chemical never previously handled except in small quantities on a laboratory scale* Research and development activities wore centered in various university and industrial laboratories* chiefly Colunbia University* Princeton Universi Ohio State University* California Institute of Technology, and the laboratories of the lieIlex Corporation, -tho Linde Air Products Company, the Balaelits Corporation, the Western Electric Conpany, and the Interohenioal Corporation* Design and engineering vrare tho responsibility of the Kellex Corporation and isore carried out by its owo staff with

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tho cooperation of ninety'-six contraotors from whoa m,jor itotas of ©qulpcsmt woro procured. The m j o r portion of* tho K-2B plant at Oak Ridcp tvaa constructed by tho J. A, Jones Construction Conpany, Ino** with the aid of about eisrfcy ouboontraotere• ihe othor principal priioe construction contractors …