Economic Analysis of Boron10 Isotope Production by Gas Diffusion Method

Abstract

10B is an important isotope in neutron absorbing and neutron detecting. At present, the method of large-scale production of boron isotope is mainly chemical exchange distillation. In recent years, under the background of increasing market demand and localization, the exploration of optimization and innovation of boron isotope separation methods is of great significance. Economic analysis of producing 10B isotope by gas diffusion method is made, and product cost based on actual market conditions is estimated. First, single stage separation effect and cascade design is made using BF3 as processing gas. Next, the economic analysis of boron isotope production is carried out from the two aspects of equipment investment and production and operation costs. Specific analysis of product with 60% abundance and 96% abundance of 10B based on the actual situation is made, and so is the influencing factors. The results show that the product cost of 10B by gas diffusion method is close to market price. Possible future optimization directions are pointed out. This work expands and enriches boron isotope separation methods. The economic analysis shows that the gas diffusion method for the separation and production of 10B isotope is a promising method for boron isotope separation.

Keywords

• boron isotopes
• stable isotope separation
• gas diffusion
• economic analysis