ZIRCONIUM PRODUCTION PROCESS HIGH EFFICIENCY DISTILLATION TECHNOLOGY                                                                                         ZR/HF SEPARATION DEVELOPMENT BY USING HIGH EFFICIENCY DISTILLATION TECHNOLOGY Process Systems Design and Control Laboratory, School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University Dae-dong 214-1, Gyeongsan 712-749, Rep. of KOREA Phone: +82 53 810 3241, Fax: +82 53 811 3262, Email: mynlee@yu.ac.kr MOTIVATION Zirconium alloys have for many years been used for fuel cladding and other structural components in water-cooled nuclear reactors due to the combination of their low thermal neutron capture cross-section, good corrosion resistance in high temperature water and respectable mechanical properties. In the preparation of zirconium and hafnium metals, there are many indications that impurity levels control the physical and chemical properties. The purpose of this work was to develop a distillation method for the production of hafnium-free zirconium. The process includes using high efficiency distillation technology.. NUCLEAR REACTOR PLANT INTRODUCTION ZIRCONIUM PRODUCTION PROCESS HIGH EFFICIENCY DISTILLATION TECHNOLOGY