Invention Grant
- Patent Title: Production of heavy water
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Application No.: US13628186Application Date: 2012-09-27
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Publication No.: US09670064B1Publication Date: 2017-06-06
- Inventor: Larry S. Spencer , Sam W. Brown , Michael R. Phillips
- Applicant: Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC
- Applicant Address: US TN Oak Ridge
- Assignee: Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC
- Current Assignee: Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC
- Current Assignee Address: US TN Oak Ridge
- Agency: Luedeka Neely Group, PC
- Agent Michael J. Renner, Esq.
- Main IPC: C01B5/02
- IPC: C01B5/02 ; B01J10/00 ; C25B1/00

Abstract:
Disclosed are methods and apparatuses for producing heavy water. In one embodiment, a catalyst is treated with high purity air or a mixture of gaseous nitrogen and oxygen with gaseous deuterium all together flowing over the catalyst to produce the heavy water. In an alternate embodiment, the deuterium is combusted to form the heavy water. In an alternate embodiment, gaseous deuterium and gaseous oxygen is flowed into a fuel cell to produce the heavy water. In various embodiments, the deuterium may be produced by a thermal decomposition and distillation process that involves heating solid lithium deuteride to form liquid lithium deuteride and then extracting the gaseous deuterium from the liquid lithium deuteride.
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