Zirconium isotope separation

In this invention, a bond in a zirconium compound is broken and when broken, can undergo a reaction with another compound. Since zirconium 91 has an odd number of nucleons, it will have its own magnetic field which will relax the spins of the electrons in the broken bonds faster than the spins will relax in even-numbered isotopes such as zirconium 90. This means that the broken bonds in the zirconium 91 isotope will be slower to reform and therefore will be more likely to engage in a reaction with the scavenger compound than will the broken bonds of the even zirconium isotopes. As a result the original zirconium compound will become depleted in the zirconium 91 isotope and the reaction product of the original zirconium compound with the scavenger will become enriched in the zirconium 91 isotope. Since the reaction product is chemically different from the original compound, it can then be easily separated. The preferred compound is tetraoxylatozirconate (IV). The solvent is preferably water and the preferred scavenger is Clsup(-)