Karlsruhe 2024 – scientific programme
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T: Fachverband Teilchenphysik
T 13: Detectors 2 (scintillators, other)
T 13.6: Talk
Monday, March 4, 2024, 17:15–17:30, Geb. 30.23: 2/17
Designing cryogenic distillation systems for xenon using new calculation and visualisation tools — •Patrick Alexander Unkhoff, Lutz Althüser, Volker Hannen, Christian Huhmann, David Koke, Andria Michael, Phillipp Schulte, Daniel Wenz, and Christian Weinheimer — Institute for Nuclear Physics, University of Münster
In recent years cryogenic distillation of xenon has proven to be an effective way of reducing the intrinsic radioactive background for rare-event searches. This has been employed in the direct detection of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) to remove the natural occurring isotopes 85Kr and 222Rn. Future experiments, such as DARWIN and XLZD, will rely on further reduction.
For this purpose, the core principles behind cryogenic distillation are revisited. Here, the differences in vapor pressure between xenon and the contaminant enable separation by repeated evaporation and condensation. The required number of such stages can be determined using the McCabe-Thiele method as well as a modified version to take advantage of the radioactive decay. Therefore, an interactive tool was developed to obtain prompt solutions using these methods.
However, further challenges in the distillation of xenon are posed by the required cryogenic temperatures. To drastically reduce the amount of external cooling as well as subsequent reheating, an energy-efficient heat pump concept is used. Consequently, another user-friendly tool was developed to solve the complex systems of equations for such thermodynamic systems.
Keywords: Cryogenic Distillation; Xenon; WIMPs; McCabe-Thiele; Thermodynamics