HF DISTILLATION AND MOLTEN SALT ELECTROLYSIS TO SEPARATE TRITIUM AND DEUTERIUM FROM HYDROGEN AND HELIUM

Claims

A process for separating compounds based on hydrogen isotopes is provided. The process comprises preparing a feed stream for a distillation process, feeding the feed stream into a column of a distillation unit, recovering a first fraction from the distillation unit, and recovering a second fraction from the distillation unit. The feed stream comprises hydrogen fluoride, deuterium fluoride, and tritium fluoride. The column is configured to operate at a pressure ranging from 0.1 atmospheres to 2 atmospheres. The first fraction is a fraction rich in TF, and the second fraction is a fraction rich in DF.Also provided is a nuclear fuel composition produced with the process for separating compounds based on hydrogen isotopes, a process for producing a fuel from a product stream of a fusion reactor, and a distillation unit for fractionating hydrogen isotope fluorides from a feed stream.