US 4,788,051 AGranted

Improvements in enrichment systems for isotopes of hydrogen and/or oxygen

AssigneeDeuterium Corporation

InventorJerome S. Spevack

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A new combination is disclosed of (I) a process for producing a substance enriched in a desired isotope of hydrogen and/or oxygen from a flow of liquid substance, e.g. water which becomes depleted in its content of said isotope, and (II) replenishing the liquid substance with said isotope by (a) direct contact with a flow of steam from a source external to the process, preferably geothermal steam, and (b) supplying feed flow of the process (I) from the so replenished liquid substance. Modes of improving the various forms of the process which employ dual temperature isotope exchange and their sub-combinations are also disclosed which enable higher temperatures and/or greater tower temperature differentials to be employed at reduced pressure, thus decreasing construction, energy, and other operating costs of the process, by the use in the process of certain hydroxylated and/or carboxylated organic compounds preferably with a minor proportion of water and preferably having in solution an ionizable substance enhancing the isotope exchange.

Claims31

Dependent claims

A process for producing from a flow of steam from a source external to the process which flow contains initial concentrations of a desired heavy isotope and of another lighter isotope of the same element, said element being of the group of elements consisting of hydrogen and oxygen, a substance enriched in said desired isotope without materially affecting the utility of the steam as a source of energy, which process comprises in combination:

(a) providing at substantially the temperature of said flow of steam a flow of liquid to step (b) containing said isotopes of said element and containing a lesser concentration of said desired isotope than said initial concentration thereof,
(b) extracting desired isotope from said flow of steam by passing said flow of liquid from step (a) in direct contact countercurrent isotope exchange with said flow of steam for increasing the quantity of said desired isotope in said flow of liquid to a concentration approaching said initial concentration thereof with corresponding increase of said other isotope in the steam,
(c) further processing said flow of liquid contacted in step (b) to produce therefrom a flow of substance enriched in said desired isotope and to cause said flow of liquid to become depleted in said desired isotope to said lesser concentration thereof,
(d) recirculating to step (a) the depleted flow of liquid from said processing in step (c),
(e) withdrawing substance enriched in said desired isotope from step (c), and
(f) withdrawing the steam contacted in step (b) and delivering it for use as a source of energy.

3 more elements

Isotope extracting and concentrating apparatus comprising in combination:

(I) an isotope concentrator, (II) an isotope regenerator, and (III) feed means interconnecting the same;
said isotope concentrator having (a) means for concentrating in a substance a desired isotope of at least one element selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and oxygen, and for delivering therefrom said substance enriched in said desired isotope, (b) a feed liquid inlet for supplying feed liquid containing said desired isotope thereto, and (c) a depleted liquid outlet for delivering liquid depleted in said desired isotope therefrom;
said isotope regenerator having (a') a direct contact countercurrent gas/liquid contactor, (b') supply liquid inlet means for supplying liquid thereto, (c') contacted liquid outlet means for delivering liquid therefrom, (d') steam inlet means for delivering thereto feed steam from an external source having a content of said desired isotope, and (e') steam outlet means for delivering therefrom steam depleted in said content of desired isotope;
and
said feed means comprising (a") first conduit means for delivering liquid from said depleted liquid outlet to said supply liquid inlet means, and (b") second conduit means for recirculating liquid from said contacted liquid outlet means to said feed liquid inlet;
whereby steam from an external source containing said desired isotope is depleted in said isotope by transfer thereof to a liquid in said isotope regenerator, which liquid supplies said desired isotope for concentration in said substance by said isotope concentrator and is recycled to said isotope regenerator.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.