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A Comparison Study between Batch and Continuous Process Simulation for the Separation of Carbon-13 Isotope by Cryogenic Distillation  

Kim, Jong Hwan (Department of Chemical Engineering, Dongguk University)
Lee, Doug Hyung (Department of Chemical Engineering, Dongguk University)
Lee, Euy Soo (Department of Chemical Engineering, Dongguk University)
Park, Sang Jin (Department of Chemical Engineering, Dongguk University)
Publication Information
Korean Chemical Engineering Research / v.45, no.1, 2007 , pp. 57-66 More about this Journal
Abstract
Natural gases generally consist of mainly $^{12}C$ and about 1.1% of $^{13}C$. It is well known that a stable carbon isotope, $^{13}C$, has been widely used for the applications of medical, pharmaceutical, and agricultural tracers. As a result, the development of the separation and concentrating technology of $^{13}C$ can cause of high value-added products and the possibility of the generation of new carbon materials, In general, there are two kinds of approaches to obtain a stable $^{13}C$ isotope by the separation of cryogenic distillation. One is to obtain a concentrated $^{13}CH_4$ isotope from natural gas. Another approach is to get concentrated $^{13}CO$ by distillation followed by a chemical reaction of $CH_4$ and $H_2O$. In this study, rigorous process simulations of the cryogenic distillation have been performed and analyzed for the concentrated separation of $^{13}C$ isotopes from LNG and NG by using commercial process simulator. Due to the very small differences of relative volatilities and separabilities of $^{12}C$ and $^{13}C$, the process design and operation of effective separation and concentration of $^{13}C$ need special strategies and feasibility studies. Utilization of vapor pressure data to acentric factor in SRK equation of state and optimized process conditions have been able to predict for the effective of the separation yield and concentration of $^{13}C$ for the cryogenic distillation. The various operation strategies for both batch and continuous cryogenic distillation are also studied and suggested for the basic design of the process. Development of this study can provide a tool for the effective design and operation of the cryogenic separation of $^{13}C$.
Keywords
Carbon Isotopes; Cryogenic Distillation; Process Simulation; Carbon-13;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 1  (Citation Analysis)
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