how is heavy water extracted from water

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And make 99% pure D2O?

In: Chemistry

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Most extractions are based on a chemical process. Even though hydrogen and deuterium have the same chemical reactions the speed of the reactions are slightly different. So by doing a reaction back and forth many times you can differentiate the hydrogen and deuterium. This can be done with ammonia or sulfuric acid and might even happen in normal chemical reaction plants. This is what happened in Norway when an ammonia manufacturer discovered that the water they were reusing in their process were becoming heavier and heavier. This is where Nazi Germany got most of their heavy water from.

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