Liquid phase electroquadripole device for isotope separation

Abstract

The application relates to a liquid-phase electric quadrupole device for isotope separation, which comprises a sample injection unit for raw liquid injection, a separation unit for isotope separation, a recovery liquid collection unit for collecting liquid after separation and a power supply (1) for providing electric energy; the separation unit is connected with the sample injection unit, the power supply and the recovery liquid collection unit respectively. Compared with the prior art, the application has the advantages of small floor area, low energy consumption and great economic cost saving; moreover, the device has the advantages of simple structure, simple operation, direct injection for separation and effective reduction of experimental cost.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of isotope separation, in particular to a liquid-phase electro-quadrupole device for isotope separation. BACKGROUND

[0002] Isotope separation technology first appeared in World War II, and is widely used in the fields of nuclear power, modern industry, medicine, etc., and thus is highly valued by many countries worldwide. At present, the established isotope separation technologies include the following types:

[0003] 1. Direct use of the mass difference of isotopes, such as electromagnetic separation and centrifugal separation;

[0004] 2. Use of the difference in the equilibrium molecular transfer properties, such as diffusion, thermal diffusion, ion migration molecular distillation;

[0005] 3. Use of the difference in thermodynamic properties (chemical equilibrium and phase equilibrium), such as rectification, chemical exchange, extraction, absorption, adsorption, ion exchange or crystallization;

[0006] 4. Use of the difference in the chemical reaction kinetics of isotopes, such as electrolysis and photochemical separation including laser separation.

[0007] However, the above technologies have the disadvantages of complex process, high cost, low separation factor, difficulty in industrial application, etc. In addition, the existing isotope separation technologies must be implemented in a high-vacuum, gaseous environment, and have the disadvantages of low separation factor, complex structure, tedious operation, high energy consumption, large floor area and poor economic usability. SUMMARY

[0008] The present application is to overcome at least one of the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, and provides a liquid-phase electro-quadrupole device for isotope separation. The device avoids high-vacuum, gaseous conditions, and proposes a new type of isotope separation system based on a quadrupole and an ionic liquid as a liquid-phase system.

[0009] The design concept of the present application is as follows: based on the principle of vacuum quadrupole, by adjusting the frequency, AC and DC voltage of the driving power supply, a quadrupole electric field with equal size and opposite phase is generated in the liquid-phase electro-quadrupole analysis device, to ensure that the elements follow the constraints of the Mathieu equation under the action of the quadrupole electric field. When the solution to be separated passes through the separation device, the target element or isotope will move at a uniform speed under the action of the quadrupole electric field, and the membrane element will enrich the target element to the center position of the membrane, and the non-target elements in random motion will flow out from the aperture of the membrane element, thereby realizing isotope separation.

[0010] The object of the present application can be achieved by the following technical solutions:

[0011] A liquid phase electro quadrupole device for isotope separation, comprising a sample injection unit for sample injection, a separation unit for isotope separation, a recovery liquid collection unit for collecting liquid after separation, and a power supply for providing electric energy; the separation unit is connected with the sample injection unit, the power supply and the recovery liquid collection unit respectively.

[0012] Further, the separation unit comprises an electro quadrupole for separating elements and a membrane element for enriching elements, and the membrane element is located at the center of the electro quadrupole.

[0013] Further, the electro quadrupole comprises four copper rods arranged in central symmetry around the membrane element. Specifically, by applying a direct current voltage and a superimposed radio frequency voltage on the quadrupole, the opposite pair of electrodes is equipotential, and the potential between the two pairs of electrodes is opposite, forming a quadrupole field, which ensures that the isotopic ions follow the constraints of the Mathieu equation under the action of the electric field.

[0014] Further, the material of the membrane element is ceramic membrane or organic nanofiltration membrane. Specifically, the membrane element plays a role in enriching target isotopes. When the sample enters the channel of the membrane element, one kind of isotopes passes through, and the other kind of isotopes is retained by using the inherent properties of the membrane itself.

[0015] Further, the device is also provided with a support frame in the shape of the Chinese character "Zhi", and the separation unit is fixed on the vertical plate of the support frame.

[0016] Further, the liquid outlet of the sample injection unit is connected with the center position of the separation unit.

[0017] Further, the membrane element has a pore size of 1-2 nm, an inner diameter of 2-5 mm, an outer diameter of 22-27 mm, and a length of 280-320 mm.

[0018] Further, the recovery liquid collection unit is provided with three liquid recovery branches, the first liquid recovery branch is connected with the liquid inlet at the center position of the membrane element, the second liquid recovery branch is connected with the liquid inlet at the cavity position of the electro quadrupole, and the third liquid recovery branch flows out from the liquid inlet at the wall position of the membrane element.

[0019] Further, the power supply is an AC-DC frequency conversion power supply, which generates a direct current voltage and an alternating current voltage to supply power to the corresponding two electrodes in the quadrupole, and the power supply provides a voltage of U-V COSΩt and -(U-V COSΩt), and the voltage frequency is 0-1 MHZ and the parameters are adjustable.

[0020] Further, the sample injection unit is a peristaltic pump. This flow type intelligent peristaltic pump can quantitatively control the sample injection amount of the original liquid, and ensure that the sample injection amount of the original liquid in the liquid phase quadrupole system is equal per minute.

[0021] Further, the electric quadrupole rod is filled with ionic liquid [Bmim]Cl. The ionic liquid has good thermal stability and conductivity. When the electric quadrupole rod is filled with ionic liquid, the influence on the electric field reduction capacity is not great.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the present application has the following advantages:

[0023] (1) The present application avoids high vacuum and gaseous conditions, and provides a liquid-phase electric quadrupole rod device for isotope separation for the first time.

[0024] (2) Compared with the traditional quadrupole rod, the liquid-phase electric quadrupole rod device provided by the present application has novel design and high stability, and can realize isotope separation and even has better separation performance.

[0025] (3) The present application has small floor area and low energy consumption, and saves a lot of economic cost.

[0026] (4) The liquid-phase electric quadrupole rod device for isotope separation provided by the present application has simple structure and easy operation, can directly sample for separation, effectively reduces experimental cost, and has good economic applicability.

[0027] (5) The present application can also be used for element separation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0028] Figure 1 is a schematic view of a liquid-phase electric quadrupole rod device for isotope separation;

[0029] The labels in the figure are shown as follows: 1-power supply; 2-sampling unit; 3-electric quadrupole rod; 4-membrane element; 5-device shell; 6-support frame; 7-third recovery liquid beaker; 8-first recovery liquid beaker; 9-second recovery liquid beaker; 10-original liquid beaker. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The present application will be described in detail below in combination with the drawings and specific embodiments. The present embodiment is implemented on the premise of the technical scheme of the present application, and gives detailed implementation mode and specific operation process, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0031] Example 1

[0032] A liquid-phase electric quadrupole rod device for isotope separation, the device comprising a sampling unit for original liquid sampling, a separation unit for isotope separation, a recovery liquid collection unit for collecting liquid after separation, and a power supply 1 for providing electric energy; the separation unit is connected with the sampling unit, the power supply and the recovery liquid collection unit respectively.

[0033] The separation unit comprises an electric quadrupole 3 for separating elements and a membrane element 4 for enriching elements, the membrane element 4 being located at the center of the electric quadrupole 3. The electric quadrupole 3 comprises four copper rods arranged in a central symmetry around the membrane element 4. The material of the membrane element 4 is a ceramic membrane or an organic nanofiltration membrane. The device is also provided with a support frame 6 in the shape of the Chinese character "n", and the separation unit is fixed on the vertical plate of the support frame 6. The liquid outlet of the sample inlet unit is connected to the center of the separation unit. The material of the membrane element 4 is a ceramic membrane with a pore size of 1 nm, an inner diameter of 3 mm, an outer diameter of 25 mm, and a length of 300 mm. The recovery liquid collection unit is provided with three liquid recovery branches, the first liquid recovery branch being connected to the liquid inlet at the center of the membrane element 4, the second liquid recovery branch being connected to the liquid inlet at the cavity of the electric quadrupole 3, and the third liquid recovery branch flowing out of the liquid inlet at the wall of the membrane element 4. The power supply 1 is an AC-DC frequency conversion power supply, and the sample inlet unit is a peristaltic pump. The electric quadrupole 3 is filled with ionic liquid [Bmim]Cl.

[0034] The installation mode of the present application is:

[0035] The power supply 1 supplies power to the corresponding two electrodes in the quadrupole, and the voltage parameter is adjustable. The AC and DC are output simultaneously, separately adjustable and superimposed in waveform. The function of AC is to provide a reverse AC voltage, and the normal output. The AC and DC wires are connected to the four copper rods respectively to provide the required voltage for the quadrupole field.

[0036] The electric quadrupole 3, the membrane element 4, the support frame 6 and the surface shell 5 are assembled strictly according to Figure 1 The inside is filled with ionic liquid [Bmim]Cl, and the device shell connection is bonded with ethylene oxide glue to ensure that the original liquid does not leak when entering the device.

[0037] After the original liquid is separated by the electric quadrupole 3, part of the liquid flows out from the liquid inlet at the center position under the action of the quadrupole field, another part of the liquid flows out from the liquid inlet at the wall position of the membrane element, and another part of the liquid flows out from the liquid inlet at the cavity position of the quadrupole. The receiving system composed of the liquid receiving pipe and the liquid receiving cup collects the liquids at different positions respectively.

[0038] As Figure 1As shown in the above, the flow of the liquid-phase electro-quadrupole system for isotope separation mentioned above is as follows: the [Bmim]Cl ionic liquid is filled into the cavity composed of the electro-quadrupole, the membrane element and the device shell 5, the raw solution containing isotopes is quantitatively sent into the membrane element 4 through the sampling unit, and under the joint action of the quadrupole electric field generated by the electro-quadrupole 3 and the membrane element 4; a part of the liquid flows out from the liquid receiving port at the center position of the membrane element 4, is collected into the first recovery liquid beaker 8 through the first liquid recovery branch connected with the liquid receiving port at the center position of the membrane element 4; another part of the liquid flows out from the liquid receiving port at the pipe wall position of the membrane element 4, is collected into the third recovery liquid beaker 7 through the third liquid recovery branch connected with the liquid receiving port at the pipe wall position of the membrane element 4; and still another part of the liquid flows out from the liquid receiving port at the cavity position of the electro-quadrupole 3, is collected into the second recovery liquid beaker 9 through the second liquid recovery branch connected with the liquid receiving port at the cavity position of the electro-quadrupole 3. Then, the ionic liquid collected at different positions is sent into an analytical instrument to analyze the concentration of different ions, analyze the separation effect of the liquid-phase electro-quadrupole system on isotopes, and thus realize the separation of the liquid-phase electro-quadrupole system on isotopes.

[0039] The above merely describes the preferred embodiments of the present application, but does not represent other forms of the present application. Any person skilled in the art can modify or alter the above disclosed technical contents into equivalent embodiments with equivalent changes. However, any simple modification, equivalent change and alteration made according to the technical essence of the present application to the above embodiments, without departing from the technical scheme of the present application, still falls within the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A liquid phase electroquadripole device for isotope separation, characterized in that, The device comprises a sample injection unit for raw solution injection, a separation unit for isotope separation, a recovery liquid collection unit for post-separation liquid collection, and a power supply (1) for providing electric energy; The separation unit is connected with the sample injection unit, the power supply and the recovery liquid collection unit respectively; The separation unit comprises an electric quadrupole (3) for separating elements and a membrane element (4) for enriching elements, and the membrane element (4) is located at the middle position of the electric quadrupole (3); The electric quadrupole (3) comprises four copper rods which are centrally symmetric around the membrane element (4). The material of the membrane element (4) is ceramic membrane or organic nanofiltration membrane.

2. A liquid electrospray device for isotope separation according to claim 1, wherein, The device is further provided with a support frame (6) in the shape of the Chinese character "R", and the separation unit is fixed on the vertical plate of the support frame (6).

3. A liquid electrospray quadrupole device for isotope separation as defined in claim 1, wherein, The liquid outlet of the sample injection unit is connected with the center position of the separation unit.

4. The liquid electrospray device for isotope separation of claim 1, wherein, The material of the membrane element (4) is ceramic membrane or organic nanofiltration membrane.

5. The liquid electrospray quadrupole device for isotope separation of claim 1, wherein, The material of the membrane element (4) is ceramic membrane or organic nanofiltration membrane.

6. The liquid electrospray device for isotope separation of claim 1, wherein, The recovery liquid collection unit is provided with three liquid recovery branches, the first liquid recovery branch is connected with the liquid inlet at the center position of the membrane element (4), the second liquid recovery branch is connected with the liquid inlet at the cavity position of the electric quadrupole (3), and the third liquid recovery branch flows out from the liquid inlet at the wall position of the membrane element (4).

7. The liquid electrospray quadrupole device for isotope separation of claim 1, wherein, The power supply (1) is an AC-DC frequency conversion power supply, and the sample injection unit is a peristaltic pump. The electric quadrupole (3) is filled with ionic liquid [Bmim]Cl.

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