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Separation Factors and Peclet Numbers in Evaporation Refining of Elemental Substances near Their Melting Point

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Inorganic Materials Aims and scope

Abstract—

Using the Burton–Prim–Slichter equation, we demonstrate that distillation or sublimation refining of some elemental substances (as exemplified by Sm, Yb, Mg, Eu, Te, Zn, Cd, Be, and Tb) at T = (0.9–1.2)Tm (where Tm is the melting point) can degrade with increasing temperature as a consequence of the increase in the effective separation factor, β < 1, and/or the increase in the diffusional Peclet number Pe = wX/ρD (where w is the substance vaporization rate per unit area, D is the impurity diffusion coefficient, ρ is the density of the substance, and X is a size factor of the material being evaporated), the particular effect of β or Pe being dependent on the nature of the host and impurities. In addition, we demonstrate that Pe is small in crystallization refining processes, so the main process parameter is the separation factor.

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  1. Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology National Scientific Center, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 61108, Kharkiv, Ukraine

    A. I. Kravchenko & A. I. Zhukov

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  1. A. I. Kravchenko
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  2. A. I. Zhukov
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Correspondence to A. I. Kravchenko.

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Translated by O. Tsarev

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Kravchenko, A.I., Zhukov, A.I. Separation Factors and Peclet Numbers in Evaporation Refining of Elemental Substances near Their Melting Point. Inorg Mater 58, 860–865 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0020168522080076

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