Phase Equilibria for the Production of Stable Isotopes – PEPSI

The project aims at developing experimental and modeling tools for studying the phase equilibrium behavior of stable isotopes for the design of their separation or enrichment through distillation. 10/11B and 15N will be used as case studies to develop the tools and the methodology for identifying the most adapted molecule for the distillation process, i.e. the one presenting the highest VPIE (Vapor Pressure Isotope Effect), among the molecules containing the isotope of interest. The developed methodology, beyond the present project, can be extended to the study of the separation or enrichment of other stable isotopes. The exploration of the physical properties of isotopes provides valuable insights into the interactions between atoms or molecules and the connection between the classical and quantum representation of the physical properties of molecular fluids and solids. The use of stable isotopes, which have promising applications in medicine (diagnosing and treating certain types of cancer), the nuclear industry, biology, particle physics, and many other research fields, is limited by the high production cost, that can be reduced by reliable VPIE data as the ones that this project aims to obtain.