EFFECT OF DEVELOPMENT SPEED ON SEPARATIVE PERFORMANCE OF DISPLACEMENTCHROMATOGRAPHY USING POROUS ION-EXCHANGE RESIN FOR LI ISOTOPE-SEPARATION

A series of displacement chromatography experiments using a porous ion exchange resin for Li isotope separation was performed using several development speeds. Chromatographic development at a high speed is pre ferable for practical use, but the degree of separation becomes smalle r with increasing development speeds. The height equivalent to a theor etical plate (HETP) value, which is an import;ant factor of separative performance, increased exponentially when the development speed was i ncreased. As a new measure to take account of both HETP and developmen t speed, a separation per unit time (SPUT) was defined. A maximum SPUT value was achieved when the development speed was of the order of 300 cm h(-1) in the system using the porous ion exchange resin TITEC-H1. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.