Membrane uranium isotopes

Figure 7 is a schematic representation of a section of a cascade. The feed stream to a stage consists of the depleted stream from the stage above and the enriched stream from the stage below. This mixture is first compressed and then cooled so that it enters the diffusion chamber at some predetermined optimum temperature and pressure. In the case of uranium isotope separation the process gas is uranium hexafluoride [7783-81-5] UF. Within the diffusion chamber the gas flows along a porous membrane or diffusion barrier. Approximately one-half of the gas passes through the barrier into a region... 

The development and mass production of membranes for the separation of uranium isotopes by the process of gaseous diffusion applied to UF. ... 

Charpin, J. and P. Rigny. 1990. Inorganic membranes for separative techniques From uranium isotope separation to non-nuclear fields. Proc. 1st Inti Corf. Inorganic Membranes, 3-6 July, 1-16, Montpellier. 

Inorganic membranes commercially available today are dominated by porous membranes, particularly porous ceramic membranes which are essentially the side-products of the earlier technical developments in gaseous diffusion for separating uranium isotopes in the U.S. and France. Summarized in Table 3.1 are the porous inorganic membranes presently available in the market (Hsieh 1988). They vary greatly in pore size, support material and module geometry. 

VOIDS. Empty spaces of molecular dimensions occurring between closely packed solid particles, as in powder metallurgy. Their presence permits barriers made by powder metallurgy techniques to act as diffusion membranes for separation of uranium isotopes in the gaseous diffusion process. 

Ceramic membranes were first developed in the 1940s for uranium isotope enrichment processes. Important progress has been made since that time, mainly due to the improved knowledge of the physicochemical properties of the membrane precursors. Most CMR studies concern alumina membranes other oxides such as silica, titania, or zirconia are much less frequently mentioned. 

The interest of using fine-pore thin-film ceramic or metal membranes for isotope separation (e.g. uranium) is still apparent even after years of production practice [Miszenti and Nannetti, 1975 Sumitomo Electric Industry, 1981]. Isotopes other than uranium, such as those of Ar or Ne [Isomura, et al., 1969 Fain and Brown, 1974], can also be separated by gaseous diffusion. The membrane materials having been successfully tested for these specific applications include alumina, glass and gold. 

Using different membranes and various membrane techniques, isotopes of chlorine [155], carbon [156], lithium in aqueous solutions [157,158], and uranium in CH4 [158,159] were separated. Isotopes of gadolinium and neodymium were separated in hybrid system of nanofiltration/complexation [50]. 

A well-known example of gas separation by porous membranes, and perhaps the only large-scale application, is the separation of uranium isotopes using the hexafluorides and Since natural uranium has only 0.7 percent... 

The study of gas transport in membranes has been actively pursued for over 100 years. This extensive research resulted in the development of good theories on single gas transport in polymers and other membranes. The practical use of membranes to separate gas mixtures is, however, much more recent. One well-known application has been the separation of uranium isotopes for nuclear weapon production. With few exceptions, no new, large scale applications were introduced until the late 1970 s when polymer membranes were developed of sufficient permeability and selectivity to enable their economical industrial use. Since this development is so recent, gas separations by membranes are still less well-known and their use less widespread than other membrane applications such as reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration and microfiltration. In excellent reviews on gas transport in polymers as recent as 1983, no mention was made of the important developments of the last few years. For this reason, this chapter will concentrate on the more recent aspects of gas separation by membranes. Naturally, many of the examples cited will be from our own experience, but the general underlying principles are applicable to many membrane based gas separating systems. 

The flrst U.K. uranium isotope separation plant, built in the early 1950 s, was based on gaseous difiusion. This phenomenon depends on the observation that the rate of passage of molecules through a membrane is inversely proportional to the square root of the molecular weight. The application of this principle in a cascade stage requires a compressor, membrane, control valve, and cooler. 

Determination of Uranium Isotopes. Uranium was separated from all other components of the sample by ion exchange technique and co-precipitated with Nd as fluoride on a membrane filter for measurement by a-spectrometry. Briefly, the pretreated sample was taken up in 20 mL of 10 M HCl solution and then loaded into a 10... 

By contrast porous ceramic membranes had found application since the 1960s in the field of large-scale gas diffusion processes for uranium isotope separation. It was only in the 1980s that porous ceramic membranes found other non-nuclear industrial applications, mainly oriented towards microfiltration and ultrafiltration water treatment processes. 

The next stage of development went to polymer chemists and development engineers, as the expertise of Roy Plunkett was really in fluorine chemistry. The first great application was in the separation of the isotope U-235 from U-238 by gaseous diffusion of UFe to make atomic bombs, as the gas uranium hexafluoride was exceedingly corrosive and destroyed conventional gaskets and seals. PTFE was just what was needed to form the diffusion membrane, as it was not attacked by fluorine. When peace returned, PTFE registered the trademark of Teflon in 1944. 

Other than isotopes separation for uranium enrichment described in Chapter 2, inorganic membranes are commercially used for particulate filtration of air or other gases in clean room applications, airborne contaminant analysis and high-purity hydrogen production. In addition, some inorganic membranes are us in pH and ion selective electrodes. 

Fujii, Y. et al., Separation of isotopes of lithium and uranium by electromigration using cation-exchange membranes, Isotopenpraxis, 15, 7, 203, 1979. 

Sintered membranes are made on a fairly large scale from ceramic materials, glass, graphite and metal powders such as stainless steel and tungsten.9 The particle size of the powder is the main parameter determining the pore sizes of the final membrane, which can be made in the form of discs, candles, or fine-bore tubes. Sintered membranes are used for the filtration of colloidal solutions and suspensions. This type of membrane is also marginally suitable for gas separation. It is widely used today for the separation of radioactive isotopes, especially uranium. 

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