Carbon isotope separation method

Abstract

The present invention relates to a carbon isotope separation device using an electron beam heating method. And a carbon isotope separation method using the carbon isotope separation device. Specifically, the carbon isotope separation apparatus according to one aspect comprises: a high vacuum electron beam chamber; a magnetic metal cylinder disposed in the high vacuum electron beam chamber and including a carbon mixture storage unit on an upper surface thereof; and a water-cooled sample holder in contact with the lower surface of the magnetic metal cylinder, and the carbon isotope separation device can efficiently separate and concentrate carbon isotopes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a carbon isotope separation apparatus and a method for carbon isotope separation and concentration using the carbon isotope separation apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] Isotope separation is a technique for separating specific isotopes from a mixture of isotopes formed from the same elements with different atomic masses.

[0003] Meanwhile, carbon includes 98.89% naturally occurring carbon-12 (…). 12 C) and natural ingredients in a ratio of 1.1% carbon-13 ( 13 C) Carbon is a very important raw material for isotope separation and concentration because both isotopes are stable isotopes and are very useful materials in various industrial fields. However, current technologies for carbon isotope separation require expensive equipment and expertise or use materials that are harmful to the environment and human health, and the separation efficiency is low. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Technical issues

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a separation apparatus that allows for the efficient separation of concentrated carbon isotopes, and a method for separating carbon isotopes using the separation apparatus.

[0006] Technical solution

[0007] In one general aspect, a carbon isotope separation apparatus includes: a high-vacuum electron beam chamber; a magnetic metal cylinder disposed in the high-vacuum electron beam chamber and having a carbon mixture storage unit included on the upper surface of the magnetic metal cylinder; and a water-cooled sample holder in contact with the lower surface of the magnetic metal cylinder.

[0008] The magnetic metal can be nickel or cobalt.

[0009] The sample holder can be a graphite precipitation unit.

[0010] The main unit of a magnetic metal cylinder can be a diffusion path for carbon.

[0011] In another general aspect, a carbon isotope separation method using a carbon isotope separation device includes: comprising... 12 C and 13 A carbon mixture of C is added to a carbon mixture storage unit in a magnetic metal cylinder, and a eutectic process is performed by an electron beam heating method; and graphite is precipitated by carbon diffusion.

[0012] Magnetic metal cylinders can create a temperature gradient that descends towards the lower surface in a carbon mixture storage unit.

[0013] The temperature of the carbon mixture storage unit can be 1300°C to 1400°C, and the temperature of the lower surface can be 600°C to 900°C.

[0014] The metal component in the magnetic metal cylinder can be selected to control the separated carbon isotopes.

[0015] Advantages

[0016] According to the carbon isotope separation method of the present application, carbon isotopes can be separated economically and environmentally friendly, and the relative existence ratio thereof can be controlled.

[0017] Specifically, since the carbon isotope separation method according to the embodiment does not use materials harmful to the human body and the environment, it is environmentally friendly, and since the method is simple in process and high in energy efficiency, it is expected to be advantageous in application in actual industrial sites. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 is a photograph of the lower surface of the magnetic metal cylinder before and after performing carbon element diffusion according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0019] Figure 2 is a photograph of the lower surface of the magnetic metal cylinder before and after performing carbon element diffusion according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0020] Figure 3 is a photograph of the lower surface of the magnetic metal cylinder before and after performing carbon element diffusion according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0021] Figures 4 to 6 is a photograph of the lower surface of the magnetic metal cylinder before and after performing carbon element diffusion according to an exemplary embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] In this specification, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular specific examples only and is not intended to be limiting of the application.

[0023] As used in this specification and claims, the singular forms "a," "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a component" includes a combination of two or more components, and the like.

[0024] Throughout this specification, unless particularly stated otherwise, the words "comprise", "consist of", "comprise of", or "have" do not mean to exclude any other constituent element, but mean to further include other constituent elements, and do not exclude elements, materials or processes not further listed.

[0025] The numerical ranges used in the present specification include all values from and including the lower and upper limits of the range in consideration of experimental error and variations. Unless otherwise defined, all values in the example are approximate values.

[0026] Unless specifically defined otherwise in the specification, "about" can refer to a value that is within 30%, 25%, 20%, 15%, 10%, or 5% of a value.

[0027] Hereinafter, the present application will be described in detail. However, this is merely illustrative and the present application is not limited to the specific exemplary embodiments described illustratively.

[0028] Embodiments of the present application provide an apparatus allowing the separation of concentrated carbon isotopes using electron beam heating and a carbon isotope separation method using the same.

[0029] The carbon isotope separation apparatus according to the embodiments can include a high vacuum electron beam chamber, a magnetic metal cylinder disposed in the high vacuum electron beam chamber and including a carbon mixture storage unit on an upper surface thereof, Figure 1 a water-cooled sample holder in contact with a lower surface of the magnetic metal cylinder.

[0030] If the magnetic metal is a magnetic metal having a high solubility in carbon, it can be used without limitation, and as a non-limiting example, it can be nickel, cobalt, or iron.

[0031] The main body unit of the magnetic metal cylinder can be a diffusion path of carbon elements, and the water-cooled sample holder can be a graphite precipitation unit in which carbon elements moved by diffusion are cooled and precipitated.

[0032] Another embodiment of the present application provides a carbon isotope separation method using the above-described carbon isotope separation apparatus.

[0033] The carbon isotope separation method according to the embodiments can include adding a carbon mixture including 12 C and 13 C to a carbon mixture storage unit of a magnetic metal cylinder and forming a eutectic melt of the carbon mixture and the magnetic metal by an electron beam heating method, and precipitating graphite by diffusion of carbon elements.

[0034] The carbon isotope separation method according to the embodiments can further include annealing the magnetic metal cylinder before adding the carbon mixture, which facilitates diffusion of carbon elements.

[0035] As one example, annealing can be performed at a temperature range of 1300 to 1400°C for 40 to 60 hours under a hydrogen atmosphere.

[0036] According to the carbon isotope separation method of the embodiment, by electron beam heating, a temperature gradient that drops toward the lower surface in the carbon mixture storage unit of the magnetic metal cylinder can be formed, and carbon elements that move therefrom by diffusion can be precipitated in the lower surface.

[0037] During electron beam heating, the temperature of the carbon mixture storage unit can be 1300°C to 1400°C, 1320°C to 1400°C, or 1320°C to 1350°C, the temperature of the lower surface (water-cooled sample holder, graphite precipitation unit) can be 600°C to 900°C, and the temperature can vary depending on the length of the magnetic metal cylinder.

[0038] Carbon isotope separation by electron beam heating can be performed for 6 to 8 hours.

[0039] The metal component of the magnetic metal cylinder can be selected to control the separated carbon isotope, and as one example, in a magnetic metal cylinder of a nickel component, 12 C diffuses faster and is concentrated and precipitated in the lower surface, and in a magnetic metal cylinder of a cobalt component, 13 C diffuses faster and is concentrated and precipitated in the lower surface.

[0040] Hereinafter, the above-described exemplary embodiments will be described in detail through the following examples. However, the following examples are for illustration only and do not limit the scope of the right.

[0041] [Example 1]

[0042] A nickel metal block (Shaanxi SuperMetal Materials Co. Limited) with a purity of 99.9% by weight was processed into a cylindrical shape as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 1 The unit in the above is mm. The magnetic metal cylinder formed of nickel was annealed at 1400°C for 60 hours under a hydrogen atmosphere.

[0043] Thereafter, 0.5 g of 12 C carbon powder (Alfa Aesar) and 13 C carbon powder (Cambridge Isotope Laboratories) was added to the 12 C / 13A carbon mixture source with a C=1.4 weight ratio was added to isopropanol and ultrasonically treated (Qsonica ultrasonic instrument, power ~300W) for 5 minutes to prepare a carbon mixture dispersion. The carbon mixture dispersion was added to a carbon mixture storage unit in a magnetic metal cylinder using a micropipette, and the solvent was dried.

[0044] A carbon mixture-magnetic metal cylinder system is installed in a high-vacuum electron beam chamber, with the lower surface of the magnetic metal cylinder in contact with a water-cooled sample holder. The internal pressure of the high-vacuum electron beam chamber is 10... -7 The carbon mixture was heated to 1330°C using an electron beam method to form a eutectic melt of the carbon mixture and magnetic metal, thereby inducing carbon diffusion in a magnetic metal cylinder. After 6 hours, graphite precipitation was confirmed on the lower surface of the magnetic metal cylinder. Figure 2 (b)).

[0045] Example 2

[0046] Besides the length of the magnetic metal cylinder, such as Figure 3 The changes shown are related to the isotopic weight ratio of the carbon mixture ( 12 C / 13 C) Except for changing from 1.4 to 1, the process is performed in the same way as in Example 1.

[0047] Example 3

[0048] The process is performed in the same manner as in Example 1, except that a cobalt metal block with a purity of 99.95% by weight (ShaanxiSuper Metal Materials Co. Limited) is used instead of nickel metal as the magnetic metal cylinder material.

[0049] In this example, the Raman spectra of graphite precipitated from the carbon mixture storage unit (source side) and the water-cooled sample holder (bottom side) after the carbon diffusion experiment are shown. Figures 4 to 6 )calculate 13 C content (at%) (Nano Lett. 2009, 9, 12, 4268-4272), results are shown in Table 1 below. In this paper, Raman spectroscopy was performed in plotting mode using a confocal Raman spectrometer (WITec) with a 532 nm laser source, 100x objective lens, ~1 mW laser output, 5 accumulations, and an acquisition time of 10 seconds. The spectra obtained after analysis using Matlab software are shown. The average position of the G peak indicated in the figures was calculated based on the Gaussian function.

[0050] Table 1

[0051]

[0052] Referring to Table 1, in Examples 1 and 2 using magnetic metal cylinders formed of nickel, it was found that the graphite precipitated in the water-cooled sample holder (bottom side) could have a higher concentration compared to the graphite in the carbon mixture storage unit (source side). 12 C content. Therefore, relatively light elements were found. 12 C diffuses more quickly through the nickel metal and is able to precipitate at a concentrated concentration on the bottom side.

[0053] However, in Example 3, which uses a magnetic metal cylinder formed of cobalt, a concentrated layer was confirmed on the bottom side. 13 C content, and showed results opposite to those for nickel.

[0054] That is, the separated carbon isotopes can be selected according to the type of magnetic metal, and by repeating this experiment, it is hoped that pure carbon isotopes can be separated. 13 C and 12 C.

[0055] In the foregoing, although the present invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments, these are provided only to aid in a comprehensive understanding of the invention. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments. Various modifications and changes can be made by those skilled in the art based on this specification.

[0056] Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be limited to the exemplary embodiments described above, and the appended claims and all modifications equivalent to or related to the claims are intended to fall within the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A carbon isotope separation apparatus comprising: a high vacuum electron beam chamber; a magnetic metal cylinder disposed in the high vacuum electron beam chamber and including a carbon mixture storage unit on an upper surface of the magnetic metal cylinder; and a water-cooled sample holder in contact with a lower surface of the magnetic metal cylinder. The magnetic metal is nickel or cobalt.

2. The carbon isotope separation apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The sample holder is a graphite deposition unit.

3. The carbon isotope separation apparatus of claim 1, wherein, A main body unit of the magnetic metal cylinder is a diffusion path of carbon elements.

4. The carbon isotope separation apparatus of claim 1, wherein, 5.A carbon isotope separation method using the carbon isotope separation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the method comprising: and depositing graphite by diffusion of carbon elements. The carbon mixture including 12 C and 13 C is added to the carbon mixture storage unit of the magnetic metal cylinder, and the eutectic process is performed by an electron beam heating method; The magnetic metal cylinder forms a temperature gradient that drops toward a lower surface in the carbon mixture storage unit.

6. The carbon isotope separation method of claim 5, wherein, The temperature of the carbon mixture storage unit is 1300°C to 1400°C, and the temperature of the lower surface is 600°C to 900°C.

7. The carbon isotope separation method of claim 6, wherein, A metal component in the magnetic metal cylinder is selected to control separated carbon isotopes.

8. The carbon isotope separation method of claim 5, wherein, ​

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