SBIR Phase I: Enhanced Lithium Isotope Separation

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响将是国内稳定的同位素供应。用于生产的初始目标同位素是用于美国轻水核反应堆的7-氢氧化锂。目前，这种关键材料的唯一来源是中国或俄罗斯，因此供应很容易受到中断的影响，这将削弱美国的发电能力。为了引进下一代核反应堆技术，还需要一种具有成本效益的方法来浓缩大量的锂-7。熔盐反应堆将提供本质安全、环保、无碳的基本负荷发电。这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目提供了一种浓缩锂-7的创新方法。其概念是开发一种液-液分离锂同位素的方法，该方法将与创新的高速逆流色谱(HSCCC)系统一起工作。所有商业HSCCC供应商(英国和中国)都通过将管子缠绕在竖井上来制造线轴。线轴的侧面有连接的入口和出口配件。这将线轴限制为只有一个入口和出口，并且在一个线轴上只有一个管子“样式”。使用3D打印来制造线轴，在降低成本的同时实现了设计和制造的灵活性。在这个项目中，3D打印将使不同配置的线轴能够比目前的传统缠管方法更快、更便宜地制造和测试，从而使线轴配置能够与液-液法萃取剂/稀释剂配方一起快速调整，以优化性能标准。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be a secure domestic supply of isotopes. The initial target isotope for production is lithium-7-hydroxide for use in US light-water nuclear reactors. Currently the only source of this critical material is China or Russia and so the supply is susceptible to disruptions that would cripple the US electrical generating capability. A cost-effective method to enrich very large quantities of lithium-7 is also required for the introduction of next-generation nuclear reactor technology. Molten salt reactors will deliver inherently-safe, environmentally friendly, carbon-free base load electrical power generation.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project provides an innovative approach to enriching lithium-7. The concept is to develop a liquid-liquid method for lithium isotope separation that will work with an innovative high-speed counter current chromatography (HSCCC) system. All commercial HSCCC suppliers (UK and China) build their bobbins by winding tubing around a shaft. The sides of the bobbins have the inlet and outlet fittings attached. This restricts the bobbins to only having a single inlet and outlet and having only a single tubing 'style' on a bobbin. Using 3-D printing to manufacture bobbins enables flexibility in design and manufacture while lowering cost. In this project, 3-D printing will enable bobbins with different configurations to be manufactured and tested quicker and cheaper than the current conventional tube winding method enabling the bobbin configurations to be quickly adapted alongside the liquid-liquid method extractant/diluent formulations to optimize performance criteria.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.