Mound Laboratory Progress Report for December, 1964 Page: 19 of 47
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ISOTOPE SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION
Under the sponsorship of the D, ision of Research. Mound Luborutory is responsible for furnishing mute-
rial to be used in the physical sciences to further the progress of science and terhonlogy in the public
interest. Purified helium-3 and isotopes of all other noble gases as well as carbon-13 are available for
distribution. After recovery, purification and concentration, these isotopes are furnished to installations
for research programs in the physical sciences. Methods of separation and purification are being studied.
CARBON-13
Thermal Diffusion The desired operating holdup of C"H., was accumulated in the 12-column. 8-stage
methane thermal diffusion system following a complete loss in August, 1964. Withdrawal of product was
resumed at the rate of 2 cc per hour on December 2, 1964. The material being withdrawn from the cas'&
is methane of greater than 98% purity with a mass-17 enrichment of 98%. Recent performance of the cas-
,,de is depicted in Figure 4.
100
A B
80 0Withdrawal
s* Started
E 60 Desired Holdup
s
of C"H4 Reached
w C
40- A Stage 8 - Middle
B Stage 7 - Bottom
(Product Withdrawal)
20-
C Stage 6 - Bottom
0 1
50 60 70 80 90 100
Days Since Startup
Figure 4. Performance of the Methane Thermal Diffusion Cascade
The operating holdup was accumulated over a period of 80 days. Small losses and down time from equip-
ment failures were responsible for approximately 30 of the days; therefore, in the absence of such incidents
the time to reach steady operation should be 50 days or less.
The performance of the cascade was improved and the time constant was decreased by dropping the oper-
ating pressure of Stages 3 through 8 from 740 to 560 torr. The drop in pressure increased the effective
length of the cascade by 25%, and the operating holdup was reduced by more than 25%. Theoretical per-
formance calculations for this arrangement have not yet been made.16
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EIchelberger, J.F.; Grove, G.R. & Jones, L.V. Mound Laboratory Progress Report for December, 1964, report, December 21, 1964; United States. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc930121/m1/19/: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.