CA1045581A
Expired / Lapsed
CA
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method of and apparatus for the separation of isotopes
Assignee: Northrop Grumman Space and Mission Systems Corp
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Filing: 1976-03-24
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Granted: 1979-01-02
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Expires: 1996-03-24
Abstract
Abstract ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates generally to the separation of isotopes from each other. Presently, the principal means for separating uranium isotopes on a commercial basis is the gaseous diffusion process. In order to increase the capacity of such diffusion plants a heavy capit?l investment is required which may be on the order of many hundred million dollars per year. The present invention provides methods and apparatuses for separating isotopes which are substantially less expensive than those of the prior art, yet producing a high yield and is applicable to many elements having more than one isotope. According to the invention, initially a neutral plasma is pre-pared including the element in question. The plasma may then be injected into a magnetic field or may be generated in the field where more energy is imparted to a selected isotope than to the other. Finally, the isotopes are separated from each other on the basis of their differential energies. The selected isotope may be given more energy than the other by stimulating it within the plasma at its resonant frequency which may be close to the cyclotron frequency, either by an electric field or by a magnetic field. In order to excite the other isotope, a different resonant frequency is required. The more energetic isotope may be separated by energy dependent chemical reactions. It may be collected by a positively biased probe or else the isotopes may be separated from each other by magnetic fields or in various other ways.
Inventors
- 👤 John M. Dawson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
CA
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 00:41
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01J; H01J49/00; H01J49/26; H01J49/34; H01J49/36; H01J49/38; B; B01; B01D; B01D59/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 41
Claim 1
Independent Claim
78 words
A method of separating one isotope of an element from the others which comprises the steps of: generating a substantially neutral plasma including an element having at least two ionized isotopes to be sepa-rated; generating a substantially steady magnetic field extending through the plasma; imparting more energy to a selected isotope than to the other isotopes while the element is in the magnetic field; and separating the iso-topes from each other on the basis of their differen-tial energies.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
78 words
A method of separating one isotope of an element from the others which comprises the steps of: generating a substantially neutral plasma including an element having at least two ionized isotopes to be sepa-rated; generating a substantially steady magnetic field extending through the plasma; imparting more energy to a selected isotope than to the other isotopes while the element is in the magnetic field; and separating the iso-topes from each other on the basis of their differen-tial energies.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
48 words
The method as claimed in Claim 1, wherein more energy is imparted to a selected isotope by subject-ing the element to its resonant frequency determined by the plasma density, the strength of the magnetic field, and the ratio of the charge of the mass of the selected isotope.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method as claimed in Claim 2, wherein an electric field is applied to the plasma varying in accordance with the desired resonant frequency.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method as claimed in Claim 2, wherein an additional magnetic field is applied to the plasma to cause the ions to experience variations of said additional magnetic field corresponding to the desired resonant fre-quency.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method as claimed in Claim 4, wherein said additional magnetic field is varied at the desired resonant frequency.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
52 words
The method as claimed in Claim 4, wherein said additional magnetic field is a steady magnetic field applied to the plasma varying periodically in magnitude along a predetermined direction and wherein the ions of the element to be separated are caused to move along the predetermined direction and in the magnetic fields.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method as claimed in Claim 4, wherein said additional magnetic field is a steady magnetic field applied to the plasma and is helically perturbed to pro-duce helical magnetic field lines, and the element to be separated is caused to move through the magnetic field lines.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method as claimed in Claim 1, wherein a second steady magnetic field is generated, and the iso-topes having received different energy are caused to diffuse across the second magnetic field, whereby the iso-topes having different energies will diffuse at different rates.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
49 words
The method as claimed in Claim 1, wherein a plurality of spaced magnetic mirror fields are generated in the plasma region for separating the isotopes by the magnetic mirrors, thereby to confine the more energetic isotope while permitting the less energetic isotope to pass through the magnetic mirror fields.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the isotopes are subjected to an electrical accelerating field and are subsequently separated by their differen-tial time of flight due to their different velocity corre-sponding to their different mass.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
163 words
The method as claimed in Claim 1 for sepa-rating the isotopes of potassium, wherein: said plasma generating step includes (a) evaporating potassium, (b) causing the evaporated potassium atoms to impinge on a plate consisting of an element selected from the group consisting of tungsten, tantalum and rhenium, and (c) heating the plate to an elevated temperature, whereby the impinging potassium atoms are transformed into posi-tive ions while electrons are released to generate a neu-tral, dense plasma; said magnetic field generating means includes generating a longitudinal steady magnetic field; said energy imparting step includes injecting the neutral plasma into the magnetic field, and generating an oscil-lating electric field having a desired resonant frequency determined by the strength of the magnetic field, the plasma density, and the ratio of electric charge to the mass of the selected potassium isotope, thereby to im-part differentially more energy to the selected potassium isotope than to the others; and said separating step in-cludes collecting the more energetic potassium isotope.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
49 words
The method as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said magnetic field generating step comprises generating a steady magnetic field along a longitudinal axis, and further including the steps of: injecting the plasma into the magnetic field; and moving the ionized isotopes along the longitudinal axis in a predetermined direction.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
60 words
The method as claimed in Claim 8, wherein a plurality of spaced second magnetic fields is gener-ated substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis with a substantially field-free space therebetween, whereby the more energetic ionized isotope preferentially migrates along the longitudinal axis in the predetermined direction across the plurality of second magnetic fields and the field free space therebetween.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method as claimed in Claim 12, wherein the steady magnetic field has field lines which diverge outwardly from the longitudinal axis whereby the ionized isotopes emerge at the portion having the outwardly diverging field lines in such a manner as to permit separa-tion thereof.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
80 words
The method as claimed in Claim 12, wherein an additional magnetic field and an electric field are generated which oscillate at a predetermined resonant fre-quency, the additional magnetic field and electric field being out of phase, thereby to exert a longitudinal force on the ionized isotopes and generating an electrostatic barrier substantially at right angles to the longitu-dinal axis, whereby the more energetic ions are able to pass to the electrostatic barrier while the less energetic ions are repelled thereby.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
48 words
The method as claimed in Claim 12, wherein an acoustic wave is launched along the longitudinal axis having a large amplitude, whereby the ionized isotope of the smaller mass is preferentially trapped in the troughs of the acoustic wave while the heavier isotopes pass through the acoustic wave.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
70 words
The method as claimed in Claim 12, wherein two spaced adjacent volumes are provided and each is main-tained at a different electric potential and wherein a shock wave is generated in one of the volumes, whereby the ionized isotope of the smaller mass is preferentially scattered by the propagating wave front while the ionized isotope of greater mass is capable of passing the wave front, thereby to separate the isotopes.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said separating step includes selectively chemically re-acting the ionized isotopes so that each isotope forms a different chemical compound to permit the chemical separa-tion of the isotopes.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method as claimed in Claim 18, wherein a uranium compound is caused to collide with an inert particle to transform a selected one of the isotopes into a different uranium compound.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method as claimed in Claim 19, wherein said uranium compound is uranium hexafluoride, and said different uranium compound is a uranium fluoride compound having less than six atoms of fluoride.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method as claimed in Claim 18, wherein the isotopes are caused to undergo an endothermic reaction having an energy threshold so that the reaction only takes place with the more energetic isotope to permit the chemi-cal separation thereof.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method as claimed in Claim 18, wherein the isotopes are caused to undergo an energy dependent chemical reaction which selectively reacts with the more energetic isotope but not with the less energetic isotope.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method as claimed in Claim 19, wherein the inert particle is a noble gas.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
102 words
Apparatus for separating the isotopes of an element from each other in a dense, substantially neutral plasma, said apparatus comprising: an elongated evacu-ated container; means for generating a steady magnetic field within said container; means for generating a plasma in said container and for injecting the resulting plasma into the magnetic field; a pair of conductive plates dis-posed in said container; an oscillation generator coupled to said plates for generating an electric alternating field having a predetermined frequency for selectively energiz-ing a desired isotope; and a probe disposed in said con-tainer and in said magnetic field for collecting the more energetic isotope.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
102 words
Apparatus for separating the isotopes of an element from each other in a dense, substantially neutral plasma, said apparatus comprising: an elongated evacu-ated container; means for generating a steady magnetic field within said container; means for generating a plasma in said container and for injecting the resulting plasma into the magnetic field; a pair of conductive plates dis-posed in said container; an oscillation generator coupled to said plates for generating an electric alternating field having a predetermined frequency for selectively energiz-ing a desired isotope; and a probe disposed in said con-tainer and in said magnetic field for collecting the more energetic isotope.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
104 words
Apparatus for separating the isotopes of an element from each other in a dense, substantially neutral plasma comprising: an elongated evacuated container; means for generating a steady magnetic field in said con-tainer having a longitudinal axis; means for generating spaced steady magnetic fields in said container along said longitudinal axis; and means for causing the ionized isotopes to move in a predetermined direction along said longitudinal axis and at a predetermined velocity corre-lated to the spacing of the spaced magnetic fields, whereby the moving ions see a variation of the magnetic field for imparting to them an energy related to their collective resonant frequency.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
104 words
Apparatus for separating the isotopes of an element from each other in a dense, substantially neutral plasma comprising: an elongated evacuated container; means for generating a steady magnetic field in said con-tainer having a longitudinal axis; means for generating spaced steady magnetic fields in said container along said longitudinal axis; and means for causing the ionized isotopes to move in a predetermined direction along said longitudinal axis and at a predetermined velocity corre-lated to the spacing of the spaced magnetic fields, whereby the moving ions see a variation of the magnetic field for imparting to them an energy related to their collective resonant frequency.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
31 words
The apparatus as claimed in Claim 25, where-in said means for generating spaced magnetic fields in said container provides spaced helical magnetic fields to impart additional longitudinal motion to said ions.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
96 words
Apparatus for separating the isotopes of an element form each other in a dense, substantially neutral plasma comprising: an elongated evacuated container hav-ing a longitudinal axis; means for injecting the plasma into said container and for propagating the ions along said axis in a predetermined direction; means for impart-ing differential energies to the ionized isotopes; and means for generating spaced magnetic fields in said con-tainer substantially at right angles to said longitudinal direction, having a filed-free space therebetween, where-by the more energetic ionized isotope will preferentially migrate across the transverse magnetic fields and the field-free space.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
96 words
Apparatus for separating the isotopes of an element form each other in a dense, substantially neutral plasma comprising: an elongated evacuated container hav-ing a longitudinal axis; means for injecting the plasma into said container and for propagating the ions along said axis in a predetermined direction; means for impart-ing differential energies to the ionized isotopes; and means for generating spaced magnetic fields in said con-tainer substantially at right angles to said longitudinal direction, having a filed-free space therebetween, where-by the more energetic ionized isotope will preferentially migrate across the transverse magnetic fields and the field-free space.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
86 words
Apparatus for separating the isotopes of an element from each other in a dense, substantially neutral plasma comprising: an elongated evacuated con-tainer; means for generating a first steady magnetic field in said container along a longitudinal axis; means for generating in said container a second magnetic field alternating at a predetermined resonant frequency; and means disposed in said container substantially at right angles to said axis to provide an electrostatic barrier through which the more energetic ionized isotopes can pass but not the less energetic isotopes.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
86 words
Apparatus for separating the isotopes of an element from each other in a dense, substantially neutral plasma comprising: an elongated evacuated con-tainer; means for generating a first steady magnetic field in said container along a longitudinal axis; means for generating in said container a second magnetic field alternating at a predetermined resonant frequency; and means disposed in said container substantially at right angles to said axis to provide an electrostatic barrier through which the more energetic ionized isotopes can pass but not the less energetic isotopes.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
80 words
Apparatus for separating the isotopes of an element from each other in a dense, substantially neutral plasma comprising: an elongated evacuated con-tainer; a pair of spaced conductive grids in said con-tainer; an alternating voltage source connected between said grids for launching in said container an ion acous-tic wave of predetermined amplitude and frequency; and means for injecting the plasma into said container, where-by the ionized isotope of smaller mass is preferentially trapped in the troughs of the launched acoustic wave.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
80 words
Apparatus for separating the isotopes of an element from each other in a dense, substantially neutral plasma comprising: an elongated evacuated con-tainer; a pair of spaced conductive grids in said con-tainer; an alternating voltage source connected between said grids for launching in said container an ion acous-tic wave of predetermined amplitude and frequency; and means for injecting the plasma into said container, where-by the ionized isotope of smaller mass is preferentially trapped in the troughs of the launched acoustic wave.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
101 words
Apparatus for separating the isotopes of an element form each other in a dense, substantially neutral plasma comprising: an elongated evacuated container; a pair of closed, electrically conductive grids disposed in said container and spaced form each other to define two spaced adjacent volumes; and means for applying periodi-cally electric pulses between said grids whereby a shock wave front is launched in one of the volumes which prefer-entially scatters the ionized isotope of lesser mass but permits the ionized isotope of greater mass to pass, there-by to enrich each of the isotopes within the volume de-fined by one of said grids.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
101 words
Apparatus for separating the isotopes of an element form each other in a dense, substantially neutral plasma comprising: an elongated evacuated container; a pair of closed, electrically conductive grids disposed in said container and spaced form each other to define two spaced adjacent volumes; and means for applying periodi-cally electric pulses between said grids whereby a shock wave front is launched in one of the volumes which prefer-entially scatters the ionized isotope of lesser mass but permits the ionized isotope of greater mass to pass, there-by to enrich each of the isotopes within the volume de-fined by one of said grids.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
133 words
Apparatus for separating potassium isotopes from each other comprising: an elongated evacuated tube; a plate disposed in said tube consisting of a metal se-lected from the group consisting of tungsten, rhenium and tantalum; means for heating said plate to an elevated temperature; means for generating potassium atoms and directing them toward said plate; means for generating a steady magnetic field within said tube; means for generating an oscillating electric field within said tube, said oscillating electric field having a frequency corre-sponding to the resonant frequency of the selected isotope in said plasma; a probe disposed in said magnetic field; and means for applying to said probe an electric poten-tial of such a magnitude as to repel the less energetic potassium isotope but to permit the most energetic potassium isotope to reach said probe.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
133 words
Apparatus for separating potassium isotopes from each other comprising: an elongated evacuated tube; a plate disposed in said tube consisting of a metal se-lected from the group consisting of tungsten, rhenium and tantalum; means for heating said plate to an elevated temperature; means for generating potassium atoms and directing them toward said plate; means for generating a steady magnetic field within said tube; means for generating an oscillating electric field within said tube, said oscillating electric field having a frequency corre-sponding to the resonant frequency of the selected isotope in said plasma; a probe disposed in said magnetic field; and means for applying to said probe an electric poten-tial of such a magnitude as to repel the less energetic potassium isotope but to permit the most energetic potassium isotope to reach said probe.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
16 words
The apparatus as claimed in Claim 11 in-cluding means for cooling the walls of said tube.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
13 words
The apparatus as claimed in Claim 31 in-cluding means for cooling said probe.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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