Metrics For Comparing Plasma Mass Filters
Authors: Abraham J. Fetterman and Nathaniel J. Fisch
Abstract:
High-throughput mass separation of nuclear waste may be useful for optimal storage, disposal,
or environmental remediation. The most dangerous part of nuclear waste is the fission product,
which produces most of the heat and medium-term radiation. Plasmas are well-suited to separating
nuclear waste because they can separate many different species in a single step. A number of
plasma devices have been designed for such mass separation, but there has been no standardized
comparison between these devices. We define a standard metric, the separative power per unit
volume, and derive it for three different plasma mass filters: the plasma centrifuge, Ohkawa filter,
and the magnetic centrifugal mass filter.
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Submitted to: Physics of Plasmas (July 2011)
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Download PPPL-4656 (pdf 455 KB 8 pp)
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