Patent Number: 040102874
Section: claims

1. In a process for producing discrete porous spheroidal particles consisting of a dispersion of a metal carbide or oxide-carbide mixture within a carbon matrix, the improvement which comprises carbonizing a metal-loaded ion-exchange resin microsphere within a fluidized bed to create a carbonized microphere consisting essentially of a dispersion of metal oxide within a carbon matrix, coating the carbonized microsphere with a buffer carbon layer resulting from the thermal decomposition of acetylene, and then heating the coated oxide-containing microsphere at a temperature for a time sufficient to convert at least a portion of the oxide to carbide. 2. In a process for producing discrete porous spheroidal particles consisting of a dispersion of a uranium carbide or UC.sub.2 --UO.sub.2 mixture within a carbon matrix, the improvement which comprises carbonizing a uranium-loaded ion-exchange resin microsphere within a fluidized bed to a temperature which produces a microsphere consisting of a dispersion of UO.sub.2 within a porous carbon matrix, coating said composition with a buffer carbon layer, and then heating the buffer-carbon-coated microsphere at a temperature in the range 1500.degree.-2000.degree. C. and for a time sufficient to convert at least a portion of the UO.sub.2 to UC.sub.2. 3. The process according to claim 1 in which the resin microspheres are derived from copolymers of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid with divinylbenzene. 4. The method according to claim 2 in which an isotropic carbon layer is applied on the buffer coating.