Isotope enrichment by countercurrent electromigration in molten salts
Doktorsavhandling, 1956

A series of isotope enrichments by electromigration in molten salts lias been carried out during the last, years. The running conditions are summarized in table 1 and the enrichments achieved are given in tables 2—13. Practical details such as the arrangement of the electrical circuits and the construction of the separation columns are discussed. The number of theoretical plates has been calculated for all samples. A comparison of all the data shows that the length of a theoretical unit is about twice as great for columns packed with quartz as for those with glass, but this length seems to be fairly unaffected by other parameters, such as grain size of packing or temperature during the run. An attempt to reduce the necessary operating temperature by using salt mixtures in the column is described as well as trials of new cathode arrangements which, if suc cessful, could have increased the versatility of t he enrichment method. There is an obvious systematics in the mass effects for the cations in halide melts, in fair agreement with the model given by KLEMM. The cation mass effects are much smaller for nitrates than for halides. A review of o ther physical properties of these melts does not show any corresponding division between nitrates and halides. It is possible that the observed divergence has something to do with the fact that the nitrate ion is a polyatomic unit lacking spherical symmetry. The last chapter gives a review of attempts by various methods to enrich isotopes of Li, Mg, Cl, K, Ca, Cu, Zn, Ga, Br, Rb, Sr, Ag, Cd, In, Sn, rare earths, Tl, and Pb. On the whole, electromigration in molten salts has proved to be a widely applicable method, useful for at least some 15 elements.

Författare

Arnold Lundén

Ämneskategorier

Kemi

ISBN

991-835376-7

Doktorsavhandlingar vid Chalmers tekniska högskola: 12

Utgivare

Chalmers

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2021-02-04