Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Stable isotope enrichment capabilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  • Published:
Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the US Department of Energy—Nuclear Physics Program have built a high-resolution electromagnetic isotope separator (EMIS) as a prototype for reestablishing a US-based enrichment capability for stable isotopes. ORNL has over 60 years of experience providing enriched stable isotopes and related technical services to the international accelerator target community, as well as medical, research, industrial, national security, and other communities. ORNL is investigating the combined use of electromagnetic and gas centrifuge isotope separation technologies to provide research quantities (milligram to several kilogram) of enriched stable isotopes. In preparation for implementing a larger scale production facility, a 10 mA high-resolution EMIS prototype has been built and tested. Initial testing of the device has simultaneously collected greater than 98 % enriched samples of all the molybdenum isotopes from natural abundance feedstock.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Keim CP (1953) Enriching stable isotopes electromagnetically. J Appl Phys 24(10):1255–1261

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Love LO (1973) Electromagnetic separation of isotopes at Oak Ridge. Science 182(4110):343–352

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Nuclear Science Advisory Committee—Isotopes Subcommittee (2009) Isotopes for the Nation’s Future—a long range plan, August 17

  4. Dempster AJ (1918) A new method of positive ray analysis. Phys Rev 11(4):316–325

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Yergey AL, Yergey AK (1997) Preparative scale mass spectrometry: a brief history of the calutron. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 8:943–953

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Wakerling RK, Guthrie A (eds) (1953) National nuclear energy series: electromagnetic separation of isotopes in commercial quantities, vol 4. U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Division I, New York

  7. Aaron WS (2012) Calutrons and Isotope Separation. In: Gross ML, Caprioli RM (Eds.) The encyclopedia of mass spectrometry. Miscellaneous Mathematical Applications to Elementary, vol 5, IX. Oxford, Elsevier, pp 677–684

  8. Compere AL, Griffith WL (1991) The U.S. Calutron Program for uranium enrichment: history, technology, operations and production, ORNL-5928, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 1991

  9. Freeman JH, Chivers DJ, Gard GA, Temple W (1977) Ion beam studies, part VI: the production of heavy ion beams. Nucl Instrum Method 145:473–505

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Chivers DJ (1992) Freeman ion source: an overview. Rev Sci Instrum 63:2501–2506

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Holden NE (2001) Table of the isotopes. In: Lide DR (ed) CRC handbook of chemistry and physics, 82nd edn. CRC, Boca Raton, p 2001

    Google Scholar 

  12. Aaron WS, Zevenbergen LA (2011) Enriched stable isotope target preparation at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In: Proceedings of the AccApp’11 Conference, American Nuclear Society, Knoxville, TN, April 2011 (to be published)

Download references

Acknowledgments

This EMIS/GCIS work has been supported by the U.S. Department of Energy—Office of Nuclear Physics—Isotopes Program with funds made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The materials and chemistry technical services are supported by the DOE Office of Nuclear Physics. This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of the manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831, USA

    Brian J. Egle, Kevin J. Hart & W. Scott Aaron

Authors
  1. Brian J. Egle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kevin J. Hart
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. W. Scott Aaron
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Brian J. Egle.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Egle, B.J., Hart, K.J. & Aaron, W.S. Stable isotope enrichment capabilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 299, 995–999 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-013-2630-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-013-2630-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation