Experimental demonstration of plasma mass separation in a configuration with a potential well and crossed electric and magnetic fields

Abstract

One of the alternative ‘dry’ methods for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) reprocessing is the plasma mass separation technique. This letter describes the first experiments that demonstrate the fundamental feasibility of a plasma mass separation approach in crossed electric and magnetic fields in collisionless mode. The Ag + Pb mixture was used to simulate the heavy (>235 u) and light (<150 u) components of the SNF. The Ag + Pb mixture was transformed into a plasma jet and ejected along the magnetic field. The action of the electric field caused the deposition of mixture components on the substrate in the form of localized spots. The estimated separation factor was of 35.