Density separation of boron particles. Final report
A density distribution much broader than expected was observed in lots of natural boron powder supplied by two different sources. The material in both lots was found to have a rhombohedral crystal structure, and the only other parameters which seemed to account for such a distribution were impurities within the crystal structure and varying isotopic ratios. A separation technique was established to isolate boron particles in narrow densty ranges. The isolated fractions were subsequently analyzed for B/sup 10/ and total boron content in an effort to determine whether selective isotopic enrichment and nonhomogeneous impurity distribution were the causes for the broad density distribution of the boron powders. It was found that although the B/sup 10/ content remained nearly constant around 18%, the total boron content varied from 37.5 to 98.7%. One of the lots also was found to contain an apparently high level of alpha rhombohedral boron which broadened the density distribution considerably. During this work, a capability for removing boron particles containing gross amounts of impurities and, thereby, improving the overall purity of the remaining material was developed. In addition, the separation technique used in this study apparently isolated particles with alpha and beta rhombohedral crystal structures, although the only supporting evidence is density data.
- Research Organization:
- Bendix Corp., Kansas City, MO (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00613
- OSTI ID:
- 5441285
- Report Number(s):
- BDX-613-2415; TRN: 80-010574
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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BORON
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
IMPURITIES
REMOVAL
BORON 10
DENSITY
POWDERS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
BORON ISOTOPES
ELEMENTS
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
SEMIMETALS
STABLE ISOTOPES
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