How much of the US use of uranium?

Answer 1

Used for what?

• light water moderated reactors typically use 3% U-235 enriched uranium
• heavy water moderated reactors can use 0.72% U-235 natural uranium
• graphite moderated reactors use from 0.72% U-235 natural uranium to 93.5% U-235 enriched uranium depending on the exact reactor design
• fast (unmoderated) reactors (some research reactors and breeder reactors) need at least 20% U-235 enriched uranium, with 93.5% U-235 enriched uranium being most common
• nuclear uranium fission bombs need at least 20% U-235 enriched uranium, with 93.5% U-235 enriched uranium being most common (the WW2 Littleboy bomb used 80% U-235 enriched uranium)
• nuclear plutonium fission bombs use plutonium, not uranium
• both uranium and plutonium fission bombs use a 0.2% to 0.71% depleted uranium tamper
• many nuclear fusion bombs use an outer casing made of either 0.2% to 0.71% depleted uranium or 0.72% U-235 natural uranium to increase yield by up to a factor of 10
• some armor penetrating bullets use 0.2% U-235 depleted uranium
• some tank armor uses 0.2% U-235 depleted uranium
• civilian uses such as: radiation shielding, pigments/dyes, aircraft trim weights, industrial products, racing sailboat keels, etc. use either 0.2% to 0.71% depleted uranium or 0.72% U-235 natural uranium
• etc.

Or perhaps you actually meant used up. Again used up in what? In reactors the percentage of U-235 used up before the fuel rods are replaced is called burnup; while in fission bombs the percentage of U-235 or Pu-239 used up before the bomb blows itself apart (self dissembles) stopping fission is called efficiency.

• plutonium production reactors cycle fuel through the core very rapidly to produce as pure Pu-239 as possible without undesired heavier isotopes have very low burnup of well under 1% of the U-235 in the fuel
• power reactors typically have burnup of about 25% of the U-235 in the fuel although a few designs can achieve 50% burnup
• nuclear uranium fission gun bombs like the WW2 Littleboy bomb typically have an efficiency of 1% to 2% of the U-235 in the fuel
• nuclear uranium fission implosion bombs have an efficiency of 10% to 37% of the U-235 in the fuel depending on design (the 1952 Ivy King half megaton test shot was the highest yield & highest efficiency pure fission bomb ever built at 37% efficient)
• boosted nuclear uranium fission implosion bombs can probably double to triple their efficiency so they probably have an efficiency of 30% to 80% of the U-235 in the fuel depending on design; note all boosted fission bomb designs that I am aware of used plutonium, not uranium
• etc.

Answer 2

1. Nuclear fuel for nuclear power reactors.

2. Nuclear explosive for nuclear weapons.

Answer 3

Uranium accounts for about 20% of the electricity generated in the United States. The majority of this uranium is used in nuclear power plants to produce electricity through nuclear fission.

Answer 4

tens of thousands tons each year