Hf distillation and molten salt electrolysis to separate tritium and deuterium from hydrogen and helium

Abstract

A process for separating hydrogen isotope-based compounds 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 in a range of 0.1 atmospheres to 2 atmospheres. The first fraction is a TF-rich fraction and the second fraction is a DF-rich fraction. A nuclear fuel composition produced with the process for separating hydrogen isotope-based compounds, a process for producing a fuel from a product stream of a fusion reactor are also provided, and a distillation unit for fractionating fluorides of hydrogen isotopes of a feed stream are also provided.

Description

TITLEHF DISTILLATION AND MOLTEN SALT ELECTROLYSIS TO SEPARATE TRITIUM AND DEUTERIUM FROM HYDROGEN AND HELIUMCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of and priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63 / 551 ,430 filed February 8, 2024, entitled “HF DISTILLATION AND MOLTEN SALT ELECTROLYSIS TO SEPARATE TRITIUM AND DEUTERIUM FROM HYDROGEN AND HELIUM,” the contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.BACKGROUND

[0002] Deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion reactors require feeds with very precise compositions of deuterium and tritium. Fuel compositions of D-T must be derived from products of D-T fusion reactions in order to make the fusion reactor self-sustaining. However, these product compositions must first be separated into their individual components with a high purity and then recombined. Currently available separation techniques require large amounts of costly materials which deteriorate over time. Other technologies require large energy inputs and / or multiple reprocessing cycles in order to provide useful products. Accordingly, a need exists to simplify separation methods for D-T fusion reaction product compositions to optimize fuel production therewith.SUMMARY

[0003] The following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the aspects disclosed herein and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the various aspects disclosed herein can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, and abstract as a whole.

[0004] In various aspects, a process for separating hydrogen isotope-based compounds is disclosed. In some aspects, the process includes 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. In some aspects, the feed stream comprises hydrogen fluoride, deuterium fluoride, and tritium fluoride. In some respects, the first fraction is a TF-rich fraction and the second fraction is a DF-rich fraction.

[0005] In various aspects, a process for producing a fuel from a product stream of a fusion reactor, the product stream comprising helium, hydrogen, deuterium, and tritium. In someaspects, the process comprises preparing a feed stream comprising hydrogen fluoride, deuterium fluoride, and tritium fluoride; feeding the feed stream into a column of a distillation unit, wherein the column is configured to operate at atmospheric pressure; recovering a first fraction and a second fraction from the distillation unit, wherein the first fraction consists of tritium fluoride, and wherein the second fraction consists of deuterium fluoride; feeding the first fraction into a first electrolysis system to produce a first product stream of tritium; feeding the second fraction into a second electrolysis system to produce a second product stream of deuterium; and producing the fuel with the first product stream and the second product stream. In some aspects, preparing the feed stream comprises combining the product stream with a fluorine stream to produce a reacted stream comprising the hydrogen fluoride, deuterium fluoride, and tritium fluoride; and removing helium and unreacted fluorine from the reacted stream with a condensation unit to produce the feed stream, wherein the helium and unreacted fluorine are removed as gases.

[0006] In various aspects, a distillation unit for fractionating fluorides of hydrogen isotopes of a feed stream is disclosed. In some aspects, the distillation unit comprises a column configured to separate tritium fluoride from the feed stream at a pressure in a range of 0.1 atmospheres to 2 atmosphere.

[0007] In various aspects, these and other objects, features, and characteristics of the present disclosure, as well as the methods of operation and functions of the related elements of structure and the combination of parts and economies of manufacture, will become more apparent upon consideration of the following description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of this specification, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the various figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of any of the aspects disclosed herein.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] The various aspects described herein, together with objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings as follows.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a process for separating hydrogen isotope-based compounds, according to at least one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure.

[0010] FIG. 2 is a process flow diagram illustrating a system of unit operations for executing the process of FIG. 1 , according to at least one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure.

[0011] FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a dryer system for drying a fusion reactor product stream, according to at least one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a cold trap, according to at least one nonlimiting aspect of the present disclosure.

[0013] Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate various aspects of the present disclosure, in one form, and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of any of the aspects disclosed herein.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] Certain exemplary aspects of the present disclosure will now be described to provide an overall understanding of the principles of the composition, function, manufacture, and use of the compositions and methods disclosed herein. An example or examples of these aspects are illustrated in the accompanying drawing. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the compositions, articles, and methods specifically described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawing are non-limiting exemplary aspects and that the scope of the various examples of the present disclosure is defined solely by the claims. The features illustrated or described in connection with one exemplary aspect may be combined with the features of other aspects. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0015] Reference throughout the specification to “various examples,” “some examples,” “one example,” “an example,” or the like, means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the example is included in an example. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in various examples,” “in some examples,” “in one example,” “in an example,” or the like, in places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in an example or examples. Thus, the particular features, structures, or characteristics illustrated or described in connection with one example may be combined, in whole or in part, with the features, structures, or characteristics of another example or other examples without limitation. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the present examples.

[0016] In the following description, like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings. Also in the following description, it is to be understood that such terms as “forward,” “rearward,” “left,” “right,” “above,” “below,” “upwardly,” “downwardly,” and the like are words of convenience and are not to be construed as limiting terms.

[0017] Deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion reactors require feeds with very precise fuel compositions of deuterium and tritium. While deuterium (D) can be found in nature, the scarcity of tritium (T) can complicate the implementation of fusion reactors requiring D-T fuel, particularly for fusion reactors which must be self-sustaining. One potential source of D and / or T can be a fusion reactor itself. For example, the D-T fusion reaction produces an exhaust gas with a mixture of H, D, T and He. However, this mixture must be separated into its individual components with a high purity in order to be a viable source of components for a D- T fuel composition.

[0018] Conventional separation techniques for mixtures of H, D, T and He employ membranes manufactured with exotic materials such as palladium and are operated at very high temperatures. The use of these membranes require very high surface areas to circumvent the low flux of H-D-T mixtures therethrough. Additionally, many stages of membranes are required to obtain materials of appropriate purity for fuel manufacture. Over time, the structure of these membranes can also undergo an irreversible degradation at the required high operating temperatures, thereby requiring a replacement thereof due to a reduction in the average flux of H-D-T therethrough.

[0019] Other techniques, such as oxidation of the H-D-T to water followed by electrolysis and / or distillation, may be employed. However, the water and hydrogen isotopes thereof can include a broad range of molecules, such as DTO, D2O, T2O, H2O, HTO, and HDO, which require further reprocessing after electrolysis due to the electrolysis producing undesirable mixtures of hydrogen isotopes. Alternatively, the D-T fusion exhaust gases may be condensed and fed into a cryogenic distillation process operating at low temperatures approaching 0 °K. However, these processes also require many stages and additionally, extremely large energy inputs in order to provide viable products.

[0020] The present disclosure provides various solutions that employ separation processes to produce pure deuterium and tritium. For example, the present disclosure provides processes for separating isotopes of hydrogen from one another without large energy inputs or exotic materials. More particularly, the present disclosure provides processes for producing fuel for D-T fusion reactors from products of a D-T fusion reaction. Thus, various methods andsystems of the present disclosure are used to overcome issues related to efficiency and material use when producing fuels for D-T fusion.

[0021] As used herein, the term “water” may refer to conventional water (H2O) or hydrogen isotope variants thereof, such as D2O, T2O, HDO, HTO, and / or DTO, unless indicated otherwise. Additionally, the term “water” may refer to water molecules of a liquid-phase continuous stream, vaporized water and / or steam, and / or droplets of water of and / or entrained in a gas-phase continuous stream.

[0022] FIGs. 1-2 illustrate a process 1000 for separating hydrogen isotope compounds from one another, in accordance with at least one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the process 1000 and FIG. 2 is a process flow diagram illustrating a system 10 of unit operations employed by the process 1000. The process 1000 includes a preparation 1100 of a feed stream 1150, a distillation 1200 of the feed stream 1150 in a distillation unit 500, and a recovery 1300 of a first fraction 1210 and a second fraction 1220 from the distillation 1200 of the feed stream 1150. The system 10 includes a fluorine (F2) reactor 200, a condensing unit 300, and a distillation unit 500. In various examples, the system 10 includes electrolysis units 610 and 620. In certain examples, the system 10 includes a dryer 100. The system 10 may optionally include a cold trap unit 400 and / or a third electrolysis unit 630.

[0023] The feed stream 1150 comprises, from greatest to least volatility, hydrogen fluoride (HF), deuterium fluoride (DF), and tritium fluoride (TF). In various examples, the feed stream 1150 is in a condensed phase. In some examples, the feed stream 1150 is condensed from a gas phase at a temperature of 20°C or less, or at a temperature no greater than 19.5 °C. In certain examples, the feed stream 1150 is free of any water (H2O), or any H-isotope variants thereof, such as D2O, T2O, DTO, HDO, and / or HTO. In one example, the feed stream 1150 consists of HF, DF, and TF.

[0024] Further to the above, the feed stream 1150 can be prepared 1100 from a precursor stream comprising H2, D2, and T2 in a gas phase. For example, the preparing 1100 can include combining and / or reacting H2, D2, and T2 of a precursor stream 1130 with fluorine gas (F2) in the F2reactor 200 to produce a gas phase reacted stream 1140. In various examples, the precursor stream 1130 is free of water. The precursor stream 1130 can optionally include DT, HT, and HD. The flow of a precursor stream 1130 can include up to about 77 grams T / day and about 51 grams D / day if taken from a 500 MWt plant. In some examples, the precursor stream 1130 is derived from one or more product streams 1110 or 1120 originating from a fusion reactor, each of which including T2, D2, He, DT, HT, HD, and a small amount of H2.Thus, the reacted stream 1140 can also include He and / or unreacted F2 in addition to HF, DF, and TF. In certain examples, the precursor stream 1130 may also include nitrogen (N2) which can react with F2 in the reactor 200 to produce a reacted stream 1140 comprising nitrogen trifluoride (NF3).

[0025] The product streams 1110 and / or 1120 may additionally include water, or any H- isotope variants thereof, and, in certain cases, contaminants, such as, for example, oxygen (O2) and / or nitrogen (N2) from air leakage. In some examples, the precursor stream 1130 includes at least one of streams 1110 or 1120 which have been dried in a dryer 100 to remove any water, or any H-isotope variants thereof. The dryer 100 can be configured as a passive dryer to passively remove moisture without entraining the T2or D2. For example, the dryer 100 can include a bed of a desiccant material, such as calcium sulfate, and / or a bed of molecular sieves, through which the gas stream is forced to flow. In certain examples, the product stream 1110 is an exhaust gas composition from a fusion reactor and the product stream 1120 is a cleanup composition from a coolant of a fusion reactor. Thus, the process 1000 can be configured to recycle a D-T fusion reaction product composition, such as the offgas, from an operating fusion reactor as feedstock for D-T fusion reactor. Accordingly, in some aspects, a D-T fusion reactor incorporating the process 1000 can be a self-sustaining fusion reactor.

[0026] Alternatively, or in addition to the above, the preparing 1100 can be configured to actively dry a product stream 1110 and / or 1120. For example, FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a dryer system 100’ configured to actively dry a fusion reactor product stream to produce a precursor stream 1130, in accordance with at least one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure. The dryer system 100’ can be incorporated in the process 1000 as a replacement of, or in tandem with, the dryer 100. In various examples, the dryer system 100’ includes a condenser 112. In examples where the product stream 1110 and / or 1120 includes substantial amounts of water, or any H-isotope variants thereof, such that a passive dryer alone would not feasibly remove moisture from the product stream without also removing a substantial amount of T and D, the condenser 112 can be configured to produce a gas-phase continuous stream comprising diatomic gases based on H, D, and / or T, and / or a liquid-phase continuous water-rich stream. For example, the condenser 112 can include one or more outlets to provide conduits for liquid-phase or gas-phase streams, and the working fluid of the condenser 112 can be designed to operate at a temperature for liquefying and isolating the water from the remaining components of the product stream 1110 and / or 1120. The dryer system 100’ can also include an electrolysis unit 114.

[0027] Now referring to FIGs. 1-3, in examples where the product stream 1110 and / or 1120 comprises O2 and / or N2 due to air in-leakage, the preparing 1100 includes feeding the product stream 1110 and / or 1120 into a condenser 112 to produce a gas-phase continuous precursor stream 1130A comprising T2, D2, He, DT, HT, HD, N2, and / or a small amount of H2, and a liquid-phase continuous water-rich stream 1128. In some examples, the preparing 1100 can include feeding the water-rich stream 1128 into an electrolysis unit to strip oxygen from the water-rich stream and produce a gas-phase continuous precursor stream 1130B. The precursor streams 1130A and / or 1130B may then proceed to the F2reactor 200 in a similar manner as the precursor stream 1130 described hereinabove.

[0028] Now referring back to FIGs. 1-2, in various examples, the feed stream 1150 is produced as the liquefied product of condensing the reacted phase 1140 in a condensing unit 300 at a condensing temperature chosen such that a majority of, or substantially all of, the HF, DF, and TF in the reacted stream 1140 condenses into a liquid phase. For example, the condensation temperature can be a temperature of 20°C or less, or a temperature no greater than 19.5 °C at atmospheric pressure. In some examples, the condensing temperature is 19 °C, or 15 °C, or 10 °C, or a temperature in a range of 0° C to 20° C, depending on the pressure. At the condensing temperatures disclosed hereinabove, the vapor pressures of N2, F2, NF3, and He are significantly greater than those of the HF, DF, and TF. Thus, if N2, F2, NF3, and / or He are present in the reacted stream 1140, they will remain in a gas phase separate from the liquefied HF, DF, and TF. Thus, a preparation 1100 adopting this configuration can isolate HF, DF, and TF in the reacted stream 1140 from any remaining components thereof to produce a feed stream 1150 of high purity with respect to the HF, DF, and TF. In certain examples, the composition of the feed stream 1150 consists of HF, DF, and TF.

[0029] FIG. 4 provides a schematic representation of the cold trap 400 according to at least one non-limiting aspect of the present disclosure. The cold trap 400 includes a primary trap 420, and optionally, a secondary trap 410. The primary trap 420 is configured to operate at a first temperature for selectively liquefying components of an incoming stream, such as a stream comprising F2and He. For example, the primary trap 420 can be a liquid nitrogen (L- N2) trap for recovering F2 as a liquid and He as a gas from an incoming stream, such as unreacted F2and He from the reacted stream 1140. The secondary trap 410 can be configured to operate at a temperature greater than the temperature of the primary trap 410. For example, the secondary trap 410 can be a liquid oxygen (L-O2) trap for stripping off any components of an incoming stream as a liquid, and feeding any remaining gaseous components to the primary trap 420.

[0030] Now referring to FIGs. 2 and 4, in various examples, a waste stream 1160 from the condenser 300 can be fed into a cold trap 400. In examples where the waste stream 1160 excludes, or does not include any substantial amount of, NF3, the waste stream 1160 may be fed into a L-N2 primary trap 420 to produce a liquefied unreacted F2 stream 1190 and a gaseous waste stream 1180 comprising He. In examples where the reacted stream 1140 includes NF3, the waste stream 1160 including He, NF3, and unreacted F2 in a gas phase can be fed into a L-O2 secondary trap 410 to produce a first NF3 waste stream 1170 as a liquid and a second gaseous waste stream 1172 comprising He and unreacted F2which can then be fed into the primary trap 420 to produce stream 1180 and 1190.

[0031] Now referring back to FIGs. 1-2, upon preparing the feed stream 1150, the feed stream 1150 can be fed into the distillation unit 500 to be distilled 1200. For example, the temperature of the feed stream 1150 can be maintained such that the temperature at the inlet of the distillation unit 500 is no greater than 20 °C. Thus, the feed stream 1150 can be delivered to an inlet of the distillation unit 500 as a liquid phase. The distillation 1200 of the feed stream 1150 produces, in increasing order of volatility, a first fraction 1210 and a second fraction 1220. In various examples, the first fraction 1210 is TF-rich and the second fraction 1220 is DF-rich. In some examples, the distillation 1200 produces a third HF-rich fraction 1230. In certain examples, the first fraction 1210 consists of TF and the second fraction 1220 consists of DF. In one example, the first fraction 1210 consists of TF, the second fraction 1220 consists of DF, and the third fraction 1230 consists of HF.

[0032] As used herein, the term “distillation unit” may refer to a distillation column, such as a fractionating column, or any multiple column arrangement thereof, for separating a feed stream into lighter, or more volatile, fractions and heavier, or less volatile, fractions. The term “bottoms” may refer to a liquid phase heavy fraction accumulating or generally existing in a bottom most portion of a particular column, and / or any material which can be drawn from a bottom outlet of a distillation column. The term “distillate” may refer to a lighter fraction material exiting a top outlet of a distillation column as a vapor or gas phase.

[0033] In various examples, the feed stream 1150 is fed into a column 510 of the distillation unit 500. The column 510 includes a bottom outlet 512 in a lower portion, a top outlet 514 in an upper portion, and one or more auxiliary heat exchangers. The one or more auxiliary heat exchangers can include a reboiler 511 for heating and / or vaporizing bottoms and / or a condenser 513 for liquefying distillate. A gas or vapor produced by the reboiler 511 is fed back into the lower portion of the column 510 above the bottoms and liquid bottoms can be drawn from the lower outlet 512. Likewise, a portion of the liquefied distillate produced by the condenser 513 can be returned to a top portion of the column 510, the ratio of liquefieddistillate flow returning to the column 510 to the flow of distillate exiting via the top outlet 514 being defined as the reflux ratio. Configuring the condenser 513 to provide a high reflux ration can provide finer separation at the expense of production rate.

[0034] In various examples, the first fraction 1210 is recovered 1300 from the bottom portion of the column 510. In some examples, the first fraction 1210 is recovered 1300 from the bottom outlet 512. In certain examples, the first fraction 1210 is taken from a liquid component produced by the reboiler 511.

[0035] The distillation unit 500 is configured to operate at a pressure in a range of 0.1 atmospheres to 2 atmospheres. In various examples, the column 510 is configured to operate at atmospheric pressure. In some examples, the distillation 1200 can be operated at near standard temperature and pressure, such as at atmospheric pressure and a temperature of about 20 °C. The materials of the column 510 can be configured to operate based on various operating pressures and / or composition of the feed stream 1150. For example, the column 510 can be comprised of materials such as nickel and / or copper alloys thereof for high operating pressures where operating temperatures are great enough to cause concern for material interactions between the column and the feed stream composition. In examples where the distillation unit 500 is operated near or below atmospheric pressures, such as a pressure in a range of 0.1 atmospheres to 2 atmospheres, and the feed stream 1150 is free of water or any hydrogen isotope variations thereof, the column 510 can be comprised of carbon steel as the operating temperatures suitable for distillation are at or near 20 °C and thus, low enough such that carbon steel will not materially interact with or chemically react with the feed stream composition 1150. Accordingly, configuring the column 510 for lower pressure operations can provide the benefits of lower equipment costs and lower heating and / or cooling requirements, thereby optimizing operating costs and energy requirements for the process 1000.

[0036] Further to the above, the distillation unit 500 can be configured as a multiple column unit where the column 510 functions as a lower column. For example, the top outlet 514 of the column 510 can be coupled to a second upper column 520. In many respects which are not repeated herein for brevity, the upper column 520 can be configured similarly to the column 510. In various examples, the upper column 520 includes a bottom outlet 522 in a lower portion, a top outlet 524 in an upper portion, and one or more auxiliary heat exchangers. In some examples, the upper column 520 includes a reboiler 521 for heating and / or vaporizing bottoms and / or a condenser 523 for liquefying distillate. In certain examples, the upper column 520 is comprised of carbon steel.

[0037] Any reference to an upper column and a lower column are made with respect to the manner in which the columns are connected. For example, a top outlet of the lower column is generally connected to a bottom outlet of an upper column. However, it shall be understood that the relative positioning of a lower column and an upper column is not limited to an elevation of the upper column above the first column.

[0038] In examples where the distillation unit 500 includes the upper column 520, the upper column 520 is fed by a second feed stream 1202 originating from the top outlet 514. Thus, the composition of the second feed stream 1202 can comprise lighter fractions of the feed stream 1150. In various examples, the second feed stream 1202 consists of HF and DF. In some examples, a second fraction 1220 consisting of DF is recovered 1300 from the bottom outlet 522 of the upper column 520. In certain examples, a third fraction 1230 comprising HF is recovered 1300 from the top outlet 524 of the upper column 520. In one example, a third fraction 1230 consisting of HF is recovered from the top outlet 524.

[0039] Still referring to FIGs. 1-2, the recovery 1300 can further include a conversion of the first fraction 1210 and / or the second fraction 1220. For example, the recovery 1300 can include a conversion of the TF of the first fraction 1210 into T2 and / or a conversion of the DF of the second fraction 1220 into D2. In various examples, the recovery 1300 includes feeding the first fraction 1210 into a first electrolysis system 610 and feeding the second fraction 1220 into a second electrolysis system 620 to recover, respectively, a first converted fraction 1310 consisting of T2 and a second converted fraction 1320 consisting of D2. In examples where the feed stream 1150 is derived from a product stream of a 500 MWt plant, the first converted fraction 1310 can be produced at an average rate of about 77 grams / day and the second converted fraction 1320 can be produced at an average rate of about 51 grams / day. A process 1000 adopting this configuration can provide the T2and D2 as converted fractions in the purity and final stoichiometric ratio required for producing fuel for a fission reactor. Thus, the process 1000 can be configured to provide pure streams of T2and D2 which do not require any further processing when producing fuel for a fission reactor. In some examples, the recovery 1300 optionally includes feeding the third fraction 1230 into a third electrolysis system 630 to recover a third converted fraction 1330 consisting of H2. Each of the electrolysis systems 610, 620 and 630 can be based on a suitable technology, such as, for example, a KF-2HF fused salt electrolysis. Additionally, each of the electrolysis systems 610, 620, and 630 will also produce, respectively, F2streams 1312, 1322, and 1332, each of which can be recycled as an inlet stream to the reactor 200. Thus, a significant portion of the F2 required by the process 1000 can be continually regenerated. Accordingly, a recovery 1300 adopting this configuration canreduce the amount of externally sourced F2 input requirements, thereby optimizing materials sourcing logistics and safety considerations thereof when performing the process 1000.

[0040] As described herein, the present disclosure provides a nuclear fuel composition produced with the process 1000. In various examples, the composition of the nuclear fuel includes T2 and D2 as provided from the process 1000. In some examples, the nuclear fuel composition includes amounts of T2and D2 in a ratio corresponding to the ratio of the first fraction 1210 to the second fraction 1220 recovered 1300 in the process 1000, and in certain examples, a molar ratio of T to D in a range of about 1.0: 1.0 to about 1.1 : 1.0. In one example, the nuclear fuel composition includes amounts of T2and D2 in a molar ratio of 1.0:1.01. In some aspects, the nuclear fuel composition as disclosed herein can optimize an operation of a fusion reactor while increasing a production of T therefrom.

[0041] The present disclosure also provides a process for producing a fuel from a product stream of a fusion reactor comprising He, H2, D2, and T2. The process for producing fuel includes preparing a feed stream comprising HF, DF, and TF, feeding the feed stream into a column of a distillation unit, recovering a first fraction and a second fraction from the distillation unit, feeding the first fraction into a first electrolysis system to produce a first product stream, feeding the second fraction into a second electrolysis system to produce a second product stream, and producing the fuel with the first product stream and the second product stream. The preparation of the feed stream in the process for producing the fuel is similar in many respects to other feed stream preparations described elsewhere in the present disclosure, which are not repeated herein for brevity. In various examples, preparing the feed stream includes combining the product stream of the fusion reactor with a F2 stream to produce a reacted stream comprising HF, DF, and TF, and removing He and unreacted F2 from the reacted stream with a condensation unit to produce the feed stream, wherein the He and unreacted F2are removed as gases. In some examples, the product stream is dried prior to being combined with the F2stream. Thus, the feed stream can be prepared such that is free of water.

[0042] Further to the above, the distillation unit and the electrolysis systems of the process for producing fuel are similar in many respects to other distillation units and electrolysis systems described elsewhere in the present disclosure. Thus, the distillation unit can be configured to operate at atmospheric pressure and the electrolysis systems can be configured to produce first and second product streams which independently consist of pure T2and pure D2. Accordingly, the first and second product streams can be used to produce the fuel without requiring any further processing.

[0043] Various aspects of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, the aspects listed in the following numbered clauses.

[0044] Clause 1 - A process for separating hydrogen (H) isotope-based compounds, the process comprising 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 (HF), deuterium fluoride (DF), and tritium fluoride (TF). The first fraction is a TF-rich fraction and the second fraction is a DF-rich fraction.

[0045] Clause 2 - The process of clause 1 , wherein the feed stream is a condensed phase.

[0046] Clause 3 - The process of clause 2, wherein the feed stream consists of HF, DF, and TF.

[0047] Clause 4 - The process of clauses 2 or 3, wherein a temperature of the feed stream is no greater than 20 °C.

[0048] Clause 5 - The process of any one of clauses 1-4, wherein preparing the feed stream comprises combining a precursor stream with fluorine to form a reacted stream, wherein the precursor stream comprises hydrogen (H), deuterium (D), and tritium (T).

[0049] Clause 6 - The process of clause 5, wherein the precursor stream comprises at least one of helium or nitrogen.

[0050] Clause 7 - The process of clauses 5 or 6, wherein preparing the feed stream comprises condensing the reacted stream to produce the feed stream and at least one of a fluorine stream, a nitrogen fluoride, or a helium stream, wherein the fluorine stream comprises unreacted fluorine of the reacted stream.

[0051] Clause 8 - The process of any one of clauses 5-7, wherein the precursor stream is derived from one or more products of a fusion reactor, the one or more products comprising at least one of an exhaust gas composition from the fusion reactor or a cleanup composition from a coolant of the fusion reactor.

[0052] Clause 9 - The process of any one of clauses 1-8, wherein the column is configured to operate at a pressure in a range of 0.1 atmospheres to 2 atmospheres.

[0053] Clause 10 - The process of any one of clauses 1-9, wherein the distillation unit comprises a lower column and an upper column, wherein the feed stream is fed into the lowercolumn, and wherein an inlet of the upper column is fed by a stream exiting an outlet of a top portion of the lower column.

[0054] Clause 11 - The process of clause 10, wherein the first fraction is recovered from a bottom portion of the lower column.

[0055] Clause 12 - The process of clauses 10 or 11 , wherein the second fraction is recovered from a bottom portion of the upper column.

[0056] Clause 13 - The process of any one of clauses 1-12, wherein the column is configured to operate at atmospheric pressure.

[0057] Clause 14 - The process of clause 13, wherein the composition of the feed stream is free of water.

[0058] Clause 15 - The process of any one of clauses 1-14, wherein the first fraction consists of TF and the second fraction consists of DF.

[0059] Clause 16 - The process of any one of clauses 1-15, the process further comprising at least one of a first conversion of the TF of the first fraction into diatomic tritium or a second conversion of the DF of the second fraction into diatomic deuterium.

[0060] Clause 17 - The process of clause 16, wherein at least one of the first conversion or the second conversion comprises an electrolysis based on a KF-2HF fused salt.

[0061] Clause 18 - A nuclear fuel composition produced with the process of any one of clauses 1-17.

[0062] Clause 19 - A process for producing a fuel from a product stream of a fusion reactor comprising helium (He), hydrogen (H2), deuterium (D2), and tritium (T2), the process comprising preparing a feed stream comprising hydrogen fluoride (HF), deuterium fluoride (DF), and tritium fluoride (TF); feeding the feed stream into a column of a distillation unit, wherein the column is configured to operate at atmospheric pressure; recovering a first fraction and a second fraction from the distillation unit; feeding the first fraction into a first electrolysis system to produce a first product stream of T2; feeding the second fraction into a second electrolysis system to produce a second product stream of D2; and producing the fuel with the first product stream and the second product stream. Preparing the feed stream comprises combining the product stream with a fluorine (F2) stream to produce a reacted stream comprising the HF, DF, and TF. The preparing further comprises removing He and unreacted F2from the reacted stream with a condensation unit to produce the feed stream, wherein theHe and unreacted F2 are removed as gases. The first fraction consists of TF and the second fraction consists of DF.

[0063] Clause 20 - The method of clause 19, wherein the feed stream is free of water, and wherein the product stream is dried prior to being combined with the F2 stream.

[0064] Clause 21 - The method of clauses 19 or 20, wherein preparing the feed stream comprises removing He, NF3and unreacted F2 from the reacted stream with a condensation unit to produce the feed stream, wherein the He, NF3and unreacted F2 are removed as gases.

[0065] Clause 22 - A distillation unit for fractionating fluorides of hydrogen isotopes of a feed stream, the distillation unit comprising a column configured to separate tritium fluoride from the feed stream at a pressure in a range of 0.1 atmospheres to 2 atmosphere.

[0066] Clause 23 - The distillation unit of clause 22, wherein the distillation unit further comprises a second column configured to be fed with a distillate produced by the first column, wherein the distillate comprises deuterium fluoride and hydrogen fluoride.

[0067] Clause 24 - The distillation unit of clauses 22 or 23, wherein an inner surface of the column is comprised of a carbon steel.

[0068] Various features and characteristics are described in this specification to provide an understanding of the composition, structure, production, function, and / or operation of the disclosure, which includes the disclosed methods and systems. It is understood that the various features and characteristics of the disclosure described in this specification can be combined in any suitable manner, regardless of whether such features and characteristics are expressly described in combination in this specification. The Inventors and the Applicant expressly intend such combinations of features and characteristics to be included within the scope of the disclosure described in this specification. As such, the claims can be amended to recite, in any combination, any features and characteristics expressly or inherently described in, or otherwise expressly or inherently supported by, this specification. Furthermore, the Applicant reserves the right to amend the claims to affirmatively disclaim features and characteristics that may be present in the prior art, even if those features and characteristics are not expressly described in this specification. Therefore, any such amendments will not add new matter to the specification or claims and will comply with the written description, sufficiency of description, and added matter requirements.

[0069] With respect to the appended claims, those skilled in the art will appreciate that recited operations therein may generally be performed in any order. Also, although variousoperational flows are presented in a sequence(s), it should be understood that the various operations may be performed in other orders than those that are illustrated or may be performed concurrently. Examples of such alternate orderings may include overlapping, interleaved, interrupted, reordered, incremental, preparatory, supplemental, simultaneous, reverse, or other variant orderings, unless context dictates otherwise. Furthermore, terms like “responsive to,” “related to,” or other past-tense adjectives are generally not intended to exclude such variants, unless context dictates otherwise.

[0070] The invention(s) described in this specification can comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of the various features and characteristics described in this specification. The terms “comprise” (and any form of comprise, such as “comprises” and “comprising”), “have” (and any form of have, such as “has” and “having”), “include” (and any form of include, such as “includes” and “including”), and “contain” (and any form of contain, such as “contains” and “containing”) are open-ended linking verbs. Thus, a method or system that “comprises,” “has,” “includes,” or “contains” a feature or features and / or characteristics possesses the feature or those features and / or characteristics but is not limited to possessing only the feature or those features and / or characteristics. Likewise, an element of a composition, coating, or process that “comprises,” “has,” “includes,” or “contains” the feature or features and / or characteristics possesses the feature or those features and / or characteristics but is not limited to possessing only the feature or those features and / or characteristics and may possess additional features and / or characteristics.

[0071] The grammatical articles “a,” “an,” and “the,” as used in this specification, including the claims, are intended to include “at least one” or “one or more” unless otherwise indicated. Thus, the articles are used in this specification to refer to one or more than one (i.e. , to “at least one”) of the grammatical objects of the article. By way of example, “a component” means one or more components and, thus, possibly more than one component is contemplated and can be employed or used in an implementation of the described compositions, coatings, and processes. Nevertheless, it is understood that use of the terms “at least one” or “one or more” in some instances, but not others, will not result in any interpretation where failure to use the terms limits objects of the grammatical articles “a,” “an,” and “the” to just one. Further, the use of a singular noun includes the plural, and the use of a plural noun includes the singular, unless the context of the usage requires otherwise.

[0072] In this specification, unless otherwise indicated, all numerical parameters are to be understood as being prefaced and modified in all instances by the term “about,” in which the numerical parameters possess the inherent variability characteristic of the underlying measurement techniques used to determine the numerical value of the parameter. At the veryleast, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter described herein should at least be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques.

[0073] Any numerical range recited herein includes all sub-ranges subsumed within the recited range. For example, a range of “1 to 10” includes all sub-ranges between (and including) the recited minimum value of 1 and the recited maximum value of 10, that is, having a minimum value equal to or greater than 1 and a maximum value equal to or less than 10. Also, all ranges recited herein are inclusive of the end points of the recited ranges. For example, a range of “1 to 10” includes the end points 1 and 10. Any maximum numerical limitation recited in this specification is intended to include all lower numerical limitations subsumed therein, and any minimum numerical limitation recited in this specification is intended to include all higher numerical limitations subsumed therein. Accordingly, Applicant reserves the right to amend this specification, including the claims, to expressly recite any subrange subsumed within the ranges expressly recited. All such ranges are inherently described in this specification.

[0074] As used in this specification, particularly in connection with layers, the terms “on,” “onto,” “over,” and variants thereof (e.g., “applied over,” “formed over,” “deposited over,” “provided over,” “located over,” and the like) mean applied, formed, deposited, provided, or otherwise located over a surface of a substrate but not necessarily in contact with the surface of the substrate. For example, a layer “applied over” a substrate does not preclude the presence of another layer or other layers of the same or different composition located between the applied layer and the substrate. Likewise, a second layer “applied over” a first layer does not preclude the presence of another layer or other layers of the same or different composition located between the applied second layer and the applied first layer.

[0075] Whereas particular examples of this disclosure have been described above for purposes of illustration, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that numerous variations of the details of the present disclosure may be made without departing from the disclosure as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A process for separating hydrogen (H) isotope-based compounds, the process comprising: preparing a feed stream for a distillation process, the feed stream comprising hydrogen fluoride (HF), deuterium fluoride (DF), and tritium fluoride (TF); feeding the feed stream into a column of a distillation unit; recovering a first fraction from the distillation unit, wherein the first fraction is a TF- rich fraction; and recovering a second fraction from the distillation unit, wherein the second fraction is a DF-rich fraction.

2. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the feed stream is a condensed phase.

3. The process as claimed in claim 2, wherein the feed stream consists of HF, DF, and TF.

4. The process as claimed in claim 2, wherein a temperature of the feed stream is no greater than 20 °C.

5. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein preparing the feed stream comprises combining a precursor stream with fluorine to form a reacted stream, wherein the precursor stream comprises hydrogen (H), deuterium (D), and tritium (T).

6. The process as claimed in claim 5, wherein the precursor stream comprises at least one of helium or nitrogen.

7. The process as claimed in claim 5, wherein preparing the feed stream comprises condensing the reacted stream to produce the feed stream and at least one of a fluorine stream, a nitrogen fluoride, or a helium stream, wherein the fluorine stream comprises unreacted fluorine of the reacted stream.

8. The process as claimed in claim 5, wherein the precursor stream is derived from one or more products of a fusion reactor, the one or more products comprising at least one of an exhaust gas composition from the fusion reactor or a cleanup composition from a coolant of the fusion reactor.

9. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the column is configured to operate at a pressure in a range of 0.1 atmospheres to 2 atmospheres.

10. The process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the distillation unit comprises a lower column and an upper column, wherein the feed stream is fed into the lower column, and wherein an inlet of the upper column is fed by a stream exiting an outlet of a top portion of the lower column.11 . The process as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first fraction is recovered from a bottom portion of the lower column.

12. The process as claimed in claim 10, wherein the second fraction is recovered from a bottom portion of the upper column.

13. The process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the column is configured to operate at atmospheric pressure.

14. The process as claimed in claim 13, wherein the composition of the feed stream is free of water.

15. The process as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first fraction consists of TF and the second fraction consists of DF.

16. The process as claimed in claim 1 , the process further comprising at least one of: a first conversion of the TF of the first fraction into diatomic tritium; or a second conversion of the DF of the second fraction into diatomic deuterium.

17. The process as claimed in claim 16, wherein at least one of the first conversion or the second conversion comprises an electrolysis based on a KF-2HF fused salt.

18. A nuclear fuel composition produced with the process as claimed in claim 1 .

19. A process for producing a fuel from a product stream of a fusion reactor comprising helium (He), hydrogen (H2), deuterium (D2), and tritium (T2), the process comprising: preparing a feed stream comprising hydrogen fluoride (HF), deuterium fluoride (DF), and tritium fluoride (TF), the preparing comprising: combining the product stream with a fluorine (F2) stream to produce a reacted stream comprising the hydrogen fluoride (HF), deuterium fluoride (DF), and tritium fluoride (TF); and removing He and unreacted F2from the reacted stream with a condensation unit to produce the feed stream, wherein the He and unreacted F2are removed as gases;feeding the feed stream into a column of a distillation unit, wherein the column is configured to operate at atmospheric pressure; recovering a first fraction and a second fraction from the distillation unit, wherein the first fraction consists of TF, and wherein the second fraction consists of DF; feeding the first fraction into a first electrolysis system to produce a first product stream of T2; feeding the second fraction into a second electrolysis system to produce a second product stream of D2; and producing the fuel with the first product stream and the second product stream.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the feed stream is free of water, and wherein the product stream is dried prior to being combined with the F2stream.

21. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein preparing the feed stream comprises removing He, NF3and unreacted F2from the reacted stream with a condensation unit to produce the feed stream, wherein the He, NF3and unreacted F2are removed as gases.

22. A distillation unit for fractionating fluorides of hydrogen isotopes of a feed stream, the distillation unit comprising a column configured to separate tritium fluoride from the feed stream at a pressure in a range of 0.1 atmospheres to 2 atmosphere.

23. The distillation unit as claimed in claim 22, wherein the distillation unit further comprises a second column configured to be fed with a distillate produced by the first column, wherein the distillate comprises deuterium fluoride and hydrogen fluoride.

24. The distillation unit as claimed in claim 22, wherein an inner surface of the column is comprised of a carbon steel.