CO2-LASER ISOTOPE-SEPARATION IN TERNARY MIXTURE OF H-D-T COMPOUNDS

The development of separation techniques for hydrogen isotopes is indispensable for the exploitation of nuclear energy. Improved technology for removal of tritium from waste light water or from heavy water reactors is becoming necessary, as well as purification of deuterium and tritium to be used as fuels in fusion reactors. This paper reports on the selective decomposition of D-compound in the H/D/T ternary mixture system, demonstrating another example of the remarkable capabilities of laser isotope separation: the separation of the middle isotope from a ternary isotopic mixture at one time, which is not possible with statistical methods.