[3I08-12] Isotope Enrichment and Mass Spectrometry

[3I09] Li-7 Enrichment Technology Development by MCCCE Method

(1)Outline of Technology Development

*Mai Fukumori¹, Yuki Takemura¹, Makoto Hasegawa¹, Takashi Tsunada², Kenya Tanaka², Tadafumi Kishimoto³ (1. ATOX, 2. Pesco, 3. Osaka Univ.)

Keywords:MCCCE, Li-7, PWR, Russia

The pH of PWR primary cooling water is adjusted by using LiOH. Two isotopes, Li-6 and Li-7 are in natural Li, but it is necessary to enrich Li-7 for neutron absorber of Li-6. The supplier of Li-7 is only Russia in the world. This is first issue for Japanese security. And Russia uses the mercury amalgamation method. That is second issue for natural environment. Due to resolving, Japan needs to have a domestic supply system. We focused on the multi-channel counter-current electrophoresis (MCCCE) method as an alternative enrichment technique. This method is that the target isotopes are enriched by combining the capillary method and counter-current methods of electrophoresis. Outline of Li-7 enrichment technology development by this method is presented.