A Novel Procedure of Hydrogen Isotope Separation Based on Chemical Exchange and a Selective Permeable Membrane

Abstract

It is shown theoretically that a novel process of hydrogen isotope separation can be obtained by combining bithermal isotopic exchange with transport through a selective permeable membrane. The theory of the process predicts that a small column with high separation and very small inventory can be realized. The method is attractive especially for small and medium scale processes, such as tritium enrichment, heavy water upgrading, and final deuterium concentration.

Keywords:

• Isotope separation
• tritium
• deuterium
• chemical exchange
• selective permeable membranes