Argon Calibration of a Cryogenic Distillation Column for Xenon Isotopic Enrichment

Abstract

This work presents the calibration for a 14.6 m-high cryogenic distillation column which is performed using argon. This column is located at SNOLAB, an underground lab in Canada, and it is planned to study the potential of using distillation for xenon isotopic enrichment. Our study yields a measurement of the still's height equivalent to theoretical plate (HETP) of 4.29±0.13 cm, consistent with a previous study using the same packing material. A new approach introduced in this analysis achieves a smaller error for this HETP compared to the previous study. Our HETP value will be used in the measurement of the vapour pressure isotopic effect of xenon in the future. In addition, we provide a measurement for the fractionation factor ln(α 38−40 ) = (2.731 ± 0.017)×10 −3 at the nominal boiling point, which has improved error and is consistent with theoretical values. i First of all, I would like to express my deepest appreciation and gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Caio Licciardi for his patience and support throughout my research.He is the best supervisor I could ask for and always gave me the time to meet and discuss each step of research. Also, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to my cosupervisor Prof. David Sinclair for his support and advices throughout my research, his input is always constructive.