Method of producing heavy water and new catalyst

This paper describes on the new methods of producing heavy water with new catalyst. The water-hydrogen exchange reaction has large separation coefficient, but requires catalyst. In 1972, the new catalyst which is hydrophobic was developed. The catalyst, platinum-γ-alumina, coated with silicone resin film was made by Butler et al. at first. Then, the improvement has been made, and the catalyst, 0.39 percent Pt-carbon-teflon, exhibits good activity. The problem of these catalysts is their life. In this paper, the new catalysts, platinum with porous hydrophobic carriers, are described. The catalysts were made by the reduction method. The activity test was made with a jet type closed circuit system. The platinum content was about 0.01, and the amount of a few grams was used. The on-line analysis by gas-chromatography was made for activity test. The activity of various catalysts was compared with the reaction rate constants per weight. The constant of porous glass catalyst with hydrophobic treatment increased by the factor of 200. In case of active carbon, the effect of hydrophobic treatment was not observed. (Kato, T.)