Production of a Highly Enriched 10B Isotope by a Combined Method of Laser Separation and Rectification
摘要
A boron-10 (10B) isotope is widely used in atomic power engineering in systems of control and protection of nuclear reactors. Despite the extreme strategic importance of boron-10 for the domestic industry and power engineering, in Russia, 10B is not produced in sufficient amounts and the existing demand for this material is satisfied mainly by imports. A comparative scientific and technical analysis has been made of the most advanced traditional methods of enrichment of a boron-10 isotope and of the laser method of separation of isotopes that is based on the effect of isotopically selective IR multiphoton dissociation of boron-containing molecules on exposure to the resonance radiation of a pulsed CO2 laser. Different variants of implementation of the laser method in both pure form and complete with traditional technologies have been proposed. The conclusion has been drawn that the use of the laser method in any variant will lead to a substantial cutting of the capital outlays and running expenditures in producing 10B on an industrial scale and accordingly to a decrease in the manufacturing cost of the products.