ENRICHMENT OF OXYGEN-18 ISOTOPE BY FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION

In the scope present study, fractional water distillation column operating under vacuum, with a height of 200 cm and a diameter of 3 cm, was designed and manufactured from Pyrex glass. Column was operated at an evaporation/condensation rate of 120-140 ml/min and a feed flow rate of 0.5-10 ml/min at 52 °C under -0.8 bar vacuum pressure. Oxygen-18 isotope ratios were determined using Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IR-MS). Results of the IR-MS analysis indicated that maximum relative O-18 isotope enrichment in distilled natural water was 28-90 ppm