Kellex Corporation
The Woolworth Building, headquarters of Kellex | |
| Company type | Wholly owned subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Nuclear material |
| Founded | 1942 |
| Defunct | 1950 |
| Fate | Acquired by Vitro Corporation |
| Headquarters | Lower Manhattan, New York , U.S. |
| Products | Enriched uranium |
| Parent | M. W. Kellogg Company |
The Kellex Corporation was a wholly owned subsidiary of M. W. Kellogg Company. Kellex was formed in 1942 so that Kellogg's operations relating to the Manhattan Project could be kept separate and secret. "Kell" stood for "Kellogg" and "X" for secret. The new company's goal was to design a facility for the production of enriched uranium through gaseous diffusion. In gaseous diffusion, isotopes of Uranium-235 could be separated from Uranium-238 by turning uranium metal into uranium hexafluoride gas and straining it through a barrier material.