Apparatus and method for separation of helium and neon

An apparatus for the separation of a mixture of materials which are gaseous at room temperature to produce a purified material, said apparatus comprising:

• (a) a hollow, sealed, insulated cryostat;
• (b) a plurality of serially connected cartridges which are disposed inside the cryostat;
• wherein the cartridges have a hollow interior cavity and include at least first, second and third openings, where the first and second openings are located in a top surface of the cartridge and the third opening is located in a bottom surface of the cartridge;
• (c) input means for introducing the mixture into the apparatus, said input means introducing the mixture into the hollow interior cavity of a first cartridge;
• (d) collection means for collecting the purified material, wherein the collection means are connected to the third opening means located on the bottom surface of each of the cartridges;
• (e) inlet means for introducing a cryogenic coolant into the cryostat container, said inlet means introducing the cryogenic coolant to a space inside the cryostat container which is outside the cartridges;
• (f) connection means for transferring the mixture between adjacent cartridges, wherein the connection means is connected to the second opening in the top surface of one cartridge and connected to the first opening of an adjacent cartridge;
• and where the connection means passes through the first opening into the hollow interior cavity of the adjacent cartridge to introduce the mixture into the hollow cavity of the cartridge;
• (g) output means for transferring the gaseous mixture from a final cartridge to the exterior of the cryostat.