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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.
Marius Zamfirache, Anisia Bornea, Ioan Stefanescu, Nicolae Bidica, Ovidiu Balteanu, Ciprian Bucur
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 54 | Number 2 | August 2008 | Pages 423-425
Technical Paper | Isotope Separation | doi.org/10.13182/FST08-A1845
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Among the most difficult problems of cryogenic distillation one stands apart: the extraction of the heavy fraction. By an optimal design of the cycle scheme, this problem could be avoided. A "worst case scenario" is usually occurring when the extracted fraction consists of one prevalent isotope such as hydrogen and small amounts of the other two hydrogen isotopes (deuterium and/or tritium). This situation is further complicated by two parameters of the distillation column: the extraction flow rate and the hold-up. The present work proposes the conceptual design of an extraction system associated to the cryogenic distillation column used in hydrogen separation processes. During this process, the heavy fraction (DT, T2) is separated, its concentration being the highest at the bottom of the distillation column. From this place the extraction of the gaseous phase can now begin. Being filled with adsorbent, the extraction system is used to temporarily store the heavy fraction. Also the extraction system provides samples for the gas chromatograph. The research work is focused on the existent pilot plant for tritium and deuterium separation from our institute to validate the experiments carried out until now.