Re: 72 kw - 3N Ion Engine

From: Paul F. Dietz (dietz_at_dls.net)
Date: 12/23/04 

Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2004 06:03:41 -0600
To: sci-space-tech@moderators.isc.org

Henry Spencer wrote:

> And indeed, the big snag is availability. If you want a thousand tons of
> xenon, you simply can't get it in any reasonable amount of time. Even a
> hundred tons would be problematic unless you order years ahead. This is
> essentially independent of the price you're willing to pay; even if you
> outbid everyone else, there simply isn't that much production capacity.

I'm sure if you wanted to spend enough money, you could get more, but
the cost would be frightening. Xenon is obtained as a byproduct of
air liquefaction/separation, and is affordable only because almost all
the cost is borne by the customer who needs the oxygen, nitrogen, etc.
You'd have to build entire new air separation plants just for making
the xenon.

Xenon can also be obtained from spent nuclear fuel, several tens of
tons of it are produced each year as a fission product, worldwide
(most of it still contained in the spent fuel elements). There's enough
spent fuel around that I imagine you could get a thousand tons
if you really needed it, but, again, ouch about the cost.

It's a sign of the low abundance of the element that a process
that makes new atoms is even worth considering.

        Paul

Relevant Pages

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