A Method for Measuring Total Protium and Total Deuterium …
247
Fig. 1 Thermal cycling
absorption process
schematic. (Color figure
online)
Fig. 2 Schematic showing
hydrogen separation process.
(Color figure online)
Development and Testing of a New Analytical Method
for Hydrogen Isotope Separation
A new analytical technique was developed to provide unique analytical instrumentation for measuring the protium and deuterium concentrations at several process
points during initial testing of new Thermal Cycling Absorption Process columns.
The typical configuration of a gas chromatograph to detect hydrogen gas is a
molecular sieve column that uses argon carrier gas and a thermal conductivity
detector. However, the limitation of this configuration for testing the hydrogen isotope
separation via Thermal Cycling Absorption Process is the inability of the molecular
sieve column to separate the hydrogen isotopes of interest, namely protium, molecular deuterium, and protium-deuterium (HD). This is due to the fact that all of these
species co-elute which makes it impossible to identify and quantify each isotope.
In order to eliminate these shortcomings, a replacement gas carrier system was
proposed and developed: protium or deuterium. Specifically, argon carrier was
replaced with protium carrier. This change allows one to detect only deuterium in
a sample mixture containing both protium and molecular deuterium while masking
247
Fig. 1 Thermal cycling
absorption process
schematic. (Color figure
online)
Fig. 2 Schematic showing
hydrogen separation process.
(Color figure online)
Development and Testing of a New Analytical Method
for Hydrogen Isotope Separation
A new analytical technique was developed to provide unique analytical instrumentation for measuring the protium and deuterium concentrations at several process
points during initial testing of new Thermal Cycling Absorption Process columns.
The typical configuration of a gas chromatograph to detect hydrogen gas is a
molecular sieve column that uses argon carrier gas and a thermal conductivity
detector. However, the limitation of this configuration for testing the hydrogen isotope
separation via Thermal Cycling Absorption Process is the inability of the molecular
sieve column to separate the hydrogen isotopes of interest, namely protium, molecular deuterium, and protium-deuterium (HD). This is due to the fact that all of these
species co-elute which makes it impossible to identify and quantify each isotope.
In order to eliminate these shortcomings, a replacement gas carrier system was
proposed and developed: protium or deuterium. Specifically, argon carrier was
replaced with protium carrier. This change allows one to detect only deuterium in
a sample mixture containing both protium and molecular deuterium while masking