Study on the Capabilities of One- and Two-Stage Separation Schemes for Producing Highly Enriched Carbon-13 by the Laser Method

Abstract

The feasibility of obtaining highly enriched (up to 99.5%) carbon-13 by the method of isotopically selective IR multiple-photon dissociation (MPD) of Freon 22 (CF2HCl) molecules was studied for one- and two-stage schemes of the process in a laboratory apparatus with the intracavity location of a separation reactor. The concentration of 13C in the dissociation product C2F4 (tetrafluoroethylene) and the MPD yields were measured depending on the frequency and fluence of laser radiation, as well as on the Freon 22 pressure. At the irradiation geometry used, the concentrations of 13C up to 88% were obtained in the first stage of enrichment. The second enrichment stage was based on the isotope-selective dissociation of Freon 22 preliminarily enriched with 13C (up to 32.6%). After the second stage, the final 13C concentration of 99.5 ± 0.5% was attained in the product C2F4.