A Method for Measuring Total Protium
and Total Deuterium in a Gas Mixture
Containing Protium, Deuterium,
and Protium-Deuterium Mixture Using
Gas Chromatography
Henry T. Sessions Jr. and Simona E. Hunyadi Murph
Abstract An analytical technique for measuring both total protium (H) and total
deuterium (D) in a gas mixture containing protium (H 2 ), deuterium (D 2 ), and
hydrogen-deuterium (HD) has been developed. This technique uses a micro-gas
chromatograph (uGC) with two molecular sieve columns each with thermal conductivity detectors. The carrier gas for one column is deuterium and the second column
uses protium as the carrier gas. Laboratory tests have shown that, when used in this
configuration, the micro-gas chromatograph can measure both total protium and total
deuterium each with a detection and quantification limit of less than 20 ppm. This
is a low-cost technology that can be used to provide rapid results (less than 1 min),
that are comparable with analytical results from very expensive, high resolution low
mass, magnetic sector mass spectrometers.
Keywords Hydrogen isotopes · Protium · Deuterium · Gas mixture · Detection
limit · Analytical technique
Introduction
Hydrogen with its naturally occurring isotopes, protium (H), deuterium (D), and
man-made tritium (T ), has been investigated for many decades for use in the medical
field, fusion energy, defense programs, and energy storage applications [1].
Fusion holds the promise of providing limitless, clean, sustainable energy capable
of powering our society forever [2]. Fusion is the process by which nuclei of low
atomic weight such as hydrogen combine to form nuclei of higher atomic weight
such as helium. Two isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium, provide the most
H. T. Sessions Jr. (B) · S. E. H. Murph
Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC, USA
e-mail: Henry.Sessions@srnl.doe.gov
S. E. H. Murph
e-mail: simona.murph@srnl.doe.gov
S. E. H. Murph
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
© The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society 2021
T. S. Srivatsan et al. (eds.), Metal-Matrix Composites, The Minerals, Metals
& Materials Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65249-4_16
243
and Total Deuterium in a Gas Mixture
Containing Protium, Deuterium,
and Protium-Deuterium Mixture Using
Gas Chromatography
Henry T. Sessions Jr. and Simona E. Hunyadi Murph
Abstract An analytical technique for measuring both total protium (H) and total
deuterium (D) in a gas mixture containing protium (H 2 ), deuterium (D 2 ), and
hydrogen-deuterium (HD) has been developed. This technique uses a micro-gas
chromatograph (uGC) with two molecular sieve columns each with thermal conductivity detectors. The carrier gas for one column is deuterium and the second column
uses protium as the carrier gas. Laboratory tests have shown that, when used in this
configuration, the micro-gas chromatograph can measure both total protium and total
deuterium each with a detection and quantification limit of less than 20 ppm. This
is a low-cost technology that can be used to provide rapid results (less than 1 min),
that are comparable with analytical results from very expensive, high resolution low
mass, magnetic sector mass spectrometers.
Keywords Hydrogen isotopes · Protium · Deuterium · Gas mixture · Detection
limit · Analytical technique
Introduction
Hydrogen with its naturally occurring isotopes, protium (H), deuterium (D), and
man-made tritium (T ), has been investigated for many decades for use in the medical
field, fusion energy, defense programs, and energy storage applications [1].
Fusion holds the promise of providing limitless, clean, sustainable energy capable
of powering our society forever [2]. Fusion is the process by which nuclei of low
atomic weight such as hydrogen combine to form nuclei of higher atomic weight
such as helium. Two isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium, provide the most
H. T. Sessions Jr. (B) · S. E. H. Murph
Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC, USA
e-mail: Henry.Sessions@srnl.doe.gov
S. E. H. Murph
e-mail: simona.murph@srnl.doe.gov
S. E. H. Murph
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
© The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society 2021
T. S. Srivatsan et al. (eds.), Metal-Matrix Composites, The Minerals, Metals
& Materials Series, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65249-4_16
243