ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
Mar 2026
Jan 2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
April 2026
Nuclear Technology
February 2026
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
Wenqing Wu, Yongjun Wei, Jingwen Ba, Yan Shi
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 61 | Number 1 | January 2012 | Pages 81-85
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST12-A13340
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Protium-deuterium isotope separation and tritium enrichment experiments have been carried out under the condition of a total reflux cycle using a continuous twin-bed hydrogen isotope separation technique, i.e., a twin-bed periodically counter-current flow technique. Two beds were packed with Pd and LaNi4.7Al0.3, which show positive and inverse isotope effects, respectively. The separation efficiency was studied experimentally in terms of stoichiometry between hydrogen and adsorbents, cycles, and extraction ratio. The experimental results show that a steady distribution of hydrogen isotopes along the axial direction can be obtained within an operating period of three cycles and a 10% extraction ratio at a moderate H/Pd atomic ratio. The results of a tritium enrichment experiment carried out under optimized conditions indicate that good enrichment efficiency is possible using this method to separate a three-component gas when the extraction ratio is kept small. Since the column used in this experiment is relatively short, there is great potential for this method for meeting the requirements of large-scale operations if long columns or multi-bed combined systems are employed.