Thermal diffusion separation cell sketch

The basic construction of a horizontal thermal diffusion cell is sketched in Figure 19.14(a). When gases are to be separated, the distance between the plates can be several mm for liquids it is a fraction of a mm. The separation effects of thermal diffusion and convection currents are superimposed in the equipment of Figure 19.14(b), which is called a thermogravitational or Clusius-Dickel column after the inventors in 1938. A commercially available column used for analytical purposes is in Figure 19.14(c). Several such columns in series are needed for a high degree of separation. 

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