Analysis of Uranium Isotope Separation by Redox Chromatography

Uranium isotope separation by redox chromatography is analytically studied. The periodic withdrawal of products and tails and the introduction of natural feed are simulated on the assumption of a square cascade for a uranium adsorption band. The influences on the separative power and the lead time until product withdrawal are investigated by varying the magnitude of the isotope separation factor, uranium band length, tails concentration, and so on. Simulating calculations indicate that using ion-exchange resins to achieve uranium isotope separation requires a very long lead time for the production of highly enriched uranium.