Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), celebrating its golden jubilee year, has claimed to have done its highest ever monthly production of 3.5 lakh fuel tubes against previous highest of 2.7 lakh tubes in March with process optimisation, better utilization of existing facilities and quality improvements despite the COVID pandemic restrictions.
Chairman and Managing Director Dinesh Srivastava said on Tuesday that the NFC could meet all the production targets while taking all the precautions of wearing of masks, maintaining social distance and frequent sanitization of plant premises. Among the highlights of the year are installation of new indigenously developed high temperature semi-continuous furnace for heat treatment of higher diameter strategic tubes at a maximum operating temperature of 1200 degree C.
The newly developed facility has increased productivity by 300%, increased recoveries (about 10%) and more uniform properties as compared to the existing facility. A Dedicated Uranyl Nitrate Raffinate Cake (UNRC) calcination facility was set up and a rotary furnace was commissioned to increase the cumulative calcination capacity from 350 kg/day to more than 1,100 kg/day.
Another novel manufacturing process has been for ‘Zircalo’ as a novel alloy shell based on the specific requirement for Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Several other special tubes suiting to the specific requirement of the strategic sectors were also delivered, he added.
The firm had also developed and opened a 2.5 acre ‘Anu Kreeda Udyaan’ with an open gym, walking track and play park in DAE Colony. Another ‘Praana Vaayu Udyaan’ was developed inside the plant premises with different oxygen emanating plants. Both the gardens were inaugurated by Dr. Srivastava, a press release said.
