Pressure Dependence of Separative Characteristics of Thermal Diffusion Column for H₂-HT Isotope Separation

Abstract

Experiments of H2-HT isotope separation were carried out with a hot wire column of 3 cm in diameter and 1.5 m in length. Separation factors were measured with cut changed from 0.1 to 0.9, and other operational conditions; pressure, feed rate and temperature difference, fixed. First, the feed rate was altered under the constant pressure, and next, pressure was changed. Experimental results were compared with those from an axisymmetric separative analysis, based on a Newton iterative solution of a convection-diffusion equation. Pressure dependence of separation factors agreeed qualitatively with those from theory. The separative power has a maximum value at 0.12 ∼ 0.16 MPa, when the feed rate was under 100 cm3/m(at 0.1 MPa, 25°C).