Abstract
A powerful new simulation procedure is developed for the multistage water/hydrogen exchange column for heavy water enrichment. In comparison with the distillation column, the exchange column considered here has several specific features such as the presence of three streams (liquid water, water vapor and hydrogen gas), occurrence of isotopic exchange reactions and much more complex column configuration comprising two different kinds of stages, a catalytic oxidizer at the top and an electrolytic cell at the bottom. The main calculational loop proposed here is the Newton-Raphson method where the number of independent variables is just equal to the total number of water/vapor scrubbing stages. Unlike the previously reported procedures for the exchange column, the present procedure is applicable even in cases where the deuterium concentration is significantly high, varying greatly from stage to stage within the column.
