Research progress on cryogenic separation technology of helium isotopes

QU Qianxi; JIA Peng; XU Dong; PAN Changzhao; CHEN Huan; CHU Yiqun

doi:10.11949/0438-1157.20260101

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Research progress on cryogenic separation technology of helium isotopes

更新时间：2026-06-22

- Research progress on cryogenic separation technology of helium isotopes
- CIESC Journal (2026)
- 作者机构：
  
  1.中国科学院理化技术研究所低温科学与技术全国重点实验室，北京100190
  2.中国科学院大学，北京100049
  3.深圳国际量子研究院，广东深圳518048
- 作者简介：
- 基金信息：
- DOI：10.11949/0438-1157.20260101
  CLC： TB662;TQ 028.1
- Received：22 January 2026，
  
  Revised：2026-06-16，
  
  Accepted：22 June 2026，
- 稿件说明：
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QU Qianxi, JIA Peng, XU Dong, et al. Research progress on cryogenic separation technology of helium isotopes[J/OL]. CIESC Journal, 2026.
DOI：

QU Qianxi, JIA Peng, XU Dong, et al. Research progress on cryogenic separation technology of helium isotopes[J/OL]. CIESC Journal, 2026. DOI： 10.11949/0438-1157.20260101.

摘要

氦-3（

He）作为氦的稀有同位素，在国防安全、能源科学、量子科学、医学等领域都有着广泛的应用需求，是非常重要的战略性同位素资源。目前，

He唯一的工业来源是核反应堆中氚的放射性衰变。近年来随着稀释制冷机、中子探测器等技术的发展，全球对

He的需求不断增长，但

He供应出现较大缺口，供应短缺促使人们探索

He多种潜在获取途径。本文总结了国内外各类氦同位素分离技术的研究进展，包括低温超漏分离、热冲洗分离、低温精馏、低温吸附以及其他多种较少使用的分离方法，并对这些方法进行了详细探讨与对比。最后，本文展望分析了针对潜在的可用

He资源进行富集提纯的全流程理论工艺和技术流程。

Abstract

Helium-3 (³He)

a rare isotope of helium

has broad application demands in fields such as national defense security

energy science

quantum science

and medicine

making it a crucial strategic isotope resource. Currently

the only industrial source of ³He is the radioactive decay of tritium in nuclear reactors. In recent years

with the development of technologies like dilution refrigerators and neutron detectors

the global demand for ³He has been continuously growing

yet there is a significant gap in its supply. This shortage has driven efforts to explore various potential approaches for ³He acquisition. This paper summarizes the progress of various helium isotope separation technologies at home and abroad

including cryogenic superleak separation

thermal flush separation

cryogenic distillation

cryogenic adsorption

and other less commonly used separation methods

with detailed discussion and comparison of these techniques. Finally

the paper looks forward to and analyzes the full-process theoretical processes and technical flows for the enrichment and purification of potential available ³He resources.

关键词

Keywords

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