Separation processes single-line capacities

Single-line capacities for selected separation processes 984 ... 

We have now embarked on a program to realize this potential. The U. S. Rubber Co. and Martin-Marietta Corp. have created a new, jointly-owned subsidiary—Isochem, Inc. This new company will build a fission product conversion and encapsulation plant at the Hanford, Wash., reservation to produce fully encapsulated fission products for commercial use (5). The plant is designed with four separate production lines, each for a different fission product. The capacity of each line varies with the process involved and the batch sizes and processing time. The capacity of the single line normally used for cesium-137 has been set at 29 million curies per year to meet the projected market demands of the early 1970,s (1). At these production quantities, cesium-137 should be available at less than ten cents per curie for large irradiators. 

TABLE 22.2-1 Approximate Single-Line Maximum Capacities for Selected Separation Processes... 

This process was formerly the most widely used for the manufacture of butadiene by dehydrogenation. Using a feed containing 95 per cent or more n-C. it produces a mixture of butenes and butadiene in a single step. The butadiene is separated, and the unconverted butenes and butane are recycled. The catalyst, activated alumina containing 18 to 20 per cent weight of chromium oxide, has a life of more than six months. It is placed in a series of horizontal reactors lined with refractory bricks. The inert alumina is mixed with the catalyst to achieve the uniform distribution of the heat required for the reaction and a high heat capacity of the catalyst bed. 

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