Lithium 6 and 7 Isotope Separation using Nano Beads

Lithium-6 and Lithium-7 isotopes are the backbone of the U.S. nuclear fusion industry for tritium production, nuclear fission power plants for pH control of reactors, and nuclear arsenal for replacing warheads. The U.S. has no domestic supply and is completely reliant upon Russia and China for these Lithium isotopes. Nuclear fusion promises a sustainable energy future, but hinges on tritium, which must be produced using lithium-6 (Li-6). Fusion reactors will require significant quantities of enriched Li-6, but current global supplies are limited, with production reliant on China and Russia. Precision Periodic proposes a novel process to separate and manufacture Lithium-6 and Lithium-7 isotopes to create a domestic supply chain for the U.S. nuclear fusion and fission industries since all nuclear power plants require Lithium-7 to operate. Historically, Li-6 was enriched using the mercury-based COLEX process, now discontinued in the U.S. due to environmental concerns. China and Russia continue to use this toxic process. Other promising alternative technologies have tried to replace the COLEX process but fail to commercialize due to high capital costs, high operational costs, and the continued hazardous waste generation. Precision Periodic proposes using their expertise to manufacture a novel sorbent material with a high separation factor that will be utilized in a displacement chromatography system to separation lithium isotopes in less steps than current alternative technologies. Precision Periodic’s process would generate no hazardous waste and require less capital cost to construct and a lower operating cost due to the decrease in processing steps. Precision Periodic will utilize their manufacturing expertise to construct these sorbents and optimize the process in a chromatography system by adjusting the flowrates, temperature, and concentration to achieve a high separation factor. Once optimized, a technoeconomic analysis will be conducted to determine the cost required to manufacture lithium isotopes in the desired product purity for the nuclear fusion and fission industries. Precision Periodic will speak with stakeholders in the industry to ensure final product specifications and price points are beneficial to the industry. The success of this project beyond Phase I and Phase II would allow Precision Periodic to setup a lithium isotope separation and manufacturing process to create a stable and domestic lithium isotope supply chain for the nuclear fusion industry, 65 nuclear reactors, the U.S. stockpile, and nuclear warheads. Currently this entire supply chain is controlled by Russia and China and no domestic environmentally friendly alternative is available.