Possibility of Separation of Deuterium from Natural Hydrogen by a Palladium Particle Bed

Abstract

Deuterium in natural hydrogen can be successfully concentrated by means of frontal chromatography using a Pd particle bed at room temperature. The deuterium concentration at the outlet reaches a maximum immediately after hydrogen breaks through the bed. The outlet concentration curve is correlated to a unified profile based on the plate model regardless of the gaseous flow rate and the inlet deuterium concentration. The height equivalent to a theoretical plate, HETP, decreases from 7.6 to 4.7 mm with an increase of the flow rate from 15 to 87 mL(NTP)/min.

Acknowledgments