Non-steady separation factor in a closed thermal diffusion column (isotope separation)

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Abstract
From the Majumdar solution a simple analytical expression is obtained for the non-steady separation factor of a binary isotopic mixture in a thermal diffusion column closed at both ends. The result represents the exact solution very well, it is independent of the initial concentration and allows the value of the magnitude gamma =H2/ mu (Kc+Kd) to be easily obtained from experiment. The proposed formulation qualitatively interprets the principal characteristics of the experimental results of separation of 36Ar-40Ar at four temperatures. The influence of the non-active volumes present in the column is analysed and, by means of numerical calculus, an empirical expression is presented which gives a very good account of their influence on the determination of gamma .