Comparison of four strategies for separation of stable isotopes of iridium element by gas centrifugation method

Abstract

This article presents four strategies for separating two stable isotopes of iridium with 99.9% purity. The cascades employed are tapered, square, and squared-off. To design and optimize these cascades, four computational codes were developed using the PSO algorithm. The findings indicate: (1) The tapered cascade strategy cannot achieve 99.90% separation for either type of centrifuge; (2) For the first centrifuge, both square and squared-off cascades strategy successfully separate the isotopes, achieving 99.90% purity, with recovery percentages of ¹⁹¹Ir and ¹⁹³Ir at 99% and 33%, respectively; (3) For the second centrifuge, only the square cascade strategy achieves 99.90% separation, with recovery percentages of approximately 99% for both isotopes.