Electromagnetic Centrifugation for Separating Multi-Component Mixtures in the Continuum Regime*

In this talk, we outline the process parameters and scaling relations dictating mass separation of multi-component mixtures using an inductively coupled plasma electromagnetic centrifuge (ICP-EMC) flow reactor. Unlike traditional rotary centrifuges, the ICP-EMC utilizes an upstream inductively coupled plasma to dissociate components and drive chemical reactions in an incoming flow, and the products are subjected to ExB rotation downstream to be separated by mass. This allows for a unique "single-pot" reactor that has the potential to streamline the industrial processing of multi-component mixtures solely using electrical power and without the use of hazardous chemical reagents. In contrast to prior attempts at an ExB-driven centrifuge that primarily were concerned with separating Uranium isotope mixtures in a batch reactor, our ICP-EMC studies focus on mixtures composed of higher mass differences in a commercially relevant configuration, which makes it a potential candidate for pressing applications such as separating critical materials and waste processing on space missions beyond LEO. Experimental work begins with a simplified analysis of single-component argon to characterize and model the rotational scaling of the ICP-EMC with the application of various velocity profiles and culminates in considering two-component mixtures of argon/nitrogen and argon/krypton. A scaling relation is obtained for applied current and is extrapolated to predict performance beyond our facility limits, and we examine thermally driven effects relative to rotational effects to obtain a coupled V^2/T ratio relation that predicts azimuthal velocities exceeding 150 m/s at 500 K within our system. Furthermore, residence time, mass differences, the ICP, and current are examined with respect to separation yields, which are shown to be ~2% using optimal parameters. Finally, we provide novel results demonstrating how process heating contributes to observed separation, and how operational pressure correlating to increasing collisional regimes (0.150 – 1 Torr) influences separation performance.