Producing carbon-14 isotope from spent resin waste

Method for the recovery of carbon-14 (C-14) from a mixture of inert gas and carbon-12 (C-12), carbon-13 (C-13) and carbon-14 (C-14) dioxides comprising:

• (a) cooling said mixture to a temperature below the solidification point of carbon dioxide and above the solidification point of the inert gas to obtain solid carbon dioxide and separating said solid carbon dioxide from said inert gas;
• (b) volatilising said solid carbon dioxide to provide substantially pure carbon dioxide gas;
• (c) reducing said carbon dioxide gas to carbon monoxide gas and obtaining liquefied carbon monoxide;
• (e) subjecting a feed of said liquefied carbon monoxide to fractional distillation and obtaining a bottoms rich in C-14 monoxide and poor in C-12 monoxide and a distillate poor in C-14 monoxide and rich in C-12 monoxide;
• (f) oxidizing said bottom to carbon dioxide rich in C-14 dioxide and (g) absorbing said carbon dioxide rich in C-14 dioxide in a metal hydroxide solution and obtaining a carbonate salt rich in C-14.