DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Development of fission 99Mo production process using HANARO

  • Lee, Seung-Kon (Neutron and Radioisotope Application Research Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) ;
  • Lee, Suseung (Neutron and Radioisotope Application Research Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) ;
  • Kang, Myunggoo (Neutron and Radioisotope Application Research Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) ;
  • Woo, Kyungseok (Neutron and Radioisotope Application Research Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) ;
  • Yang, Seong Woo (Neutron and Radioisotope Application Research Division, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) ;
  • Lee, Junsig (Korea Multi-purpose Accelerator Complex, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute)
  • 투고 : 2019.09.30
  • 심사 : 2019.12.17
  • 발행 : 2020.07.25

초록

The widely used medical isotope technetium-99 m (99mTc) is a daughter of Molybdenum-99 (99Mo), which is mainly produced using dedicated research reactors from the nuclear fission of uranium-235 (235U). 99mTc has been used for several decades, which covers about 80% of the all the nuclear diagnostics procedures. Recently, the instability of the supply has become an important topic throughout the international radioisotope communities. The aging of major 99Mo production reactors has also caused frequent shutdowns. It has triggered movements to establish new research reactors for 99Mo production, as well as the development of various 99Mo production technologies. In this context, a new research reactor project was launched in 2012 in Korea. At the same time, the development of fission-based 99Mo production process was initiated by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) in 2012 in order to be implemented by the new research reactor. The KAERI process is based on the caustic dissolution of plate-type LEU (low enriched uranium) dispersion targets, followed by the separation and purification using a series of columns. The development of proper waste treatment technologies for the gaseous, liquid, and solid radioactive wastes also took place. The first stage of this process development was completed in 2018. In this paper, the results of the hot test production of fission 99Mo using HANARO, KAERI's 30 MW research reactor, was described.

키워드

참고문헌

  1. International Atomic Energy Agency, Production Technologies for $^{99}Mo$ and $^{99m}Tc$, IAEA-TECDOC-1065, IAEA, Vienna, 1999.
  2. International Atomic Energy Agency, Non-HEU Production Technologies for Molybdenum-99 and Technetium-99m, IAEA Nuclear Energy Series, No. NF-T-5.4, IAEA, Vienna, 2013.
  3. National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, Medical Isotope Production without Highly Enriched Uranium, National Academic Press, Washington D. C., 2009.
  4. L.G. Stang, Manual of Isotope Production Processes in Use at Brookhaven National Laboratory, BNL-864, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, 1964.
  5. H. Anger, A New Instrument for Mapping Gamma-Ray Emitters. Biology and Medicine Quarterly Report, UCRL-3653, University of California Radiation Laboratory, Berkeley, 1957.
  6. H. Anger, Scintillation camera with multichannel collimators, J. Nucl. Med. 5 (1964) 515-531.
  7. R. Dreyer, R. Muenze, Labeling of human serum albumin with 99m-Tc (in German), Nat. Wiss. R. 18 (1969) 629-633.
  8. W.C. Eckelmann, Unparalleled contribution of technetium-99m to medicine over 5 decades, JACC (J. Am. Coll. Cardiol.): Cardiovasc. Imag. 2 (2009) 364-368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmg.2008.12.013
  9. OECD Nuclear Energy Agency High-Level Group on the Security of Supply of Medical Radioisotopes, The Supply of Medical Radioisotopes - 2015 Medical Isotope Supply Review: $^{99}Mo/^{99m}Tc$ Market Demand and Production Capacity Projection 2015-2020, Nuclear Development NEA/SEN/HLGMR 5, OECD NEA, Paris, 2015.
  10. Yu Kotschkov, V.V. Pozdeyev, A.I. Krascheninnikov, N.V. Zakharov, Production of fission $^{99}Mo$ with closed uranium cycle at the nuclear reactor WWR-Ts (in Russian), Radiokhimiya 54 (2012) 173-177.
  11. A. Sameh, H.J. Ache, Production techniques for fission molybdenum-99, Radiochim. Acta 41 (1987) 65-72. https://doi.org/10.1524/ract.1987.41.23.65
  12. L.C. Brown, Methods and Apparatus for Selective Gaseous Extraction of Molybdenum-99 and Other Fission Product Radioisotopes, 2015. Patent EP 2580763 B1.
  13. R. Muenze, O. Hladik, G. Bernhard, W. Boessert, R. Schwarzbach, Large scale production of fission $^{99}Mo$ by using fuel elements of a research reactor as starting material, Int. J. Appl. Radiat. Isot. 35 (1984) 49-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/0020-708X(84)90131-5
  14. D. Novotny, G. Wagner, Procedure of small scale production of Mo-99 on the basis of irradiated natural uranium metal as target, in: Consultants Meeting on Small Scale Production of Fission Mo-99 for Use in Tc-99m Generators, IAEA, Vienna, July 7-10, 2003.
  15. J. Sauerwein, K. Brooks, C. Critch, Selective gas extraction: a transformational production technology being implemented by GA, MURR and NORDION, in: Mo-99 Topical Meeting on Molybdenum-99 Technology Developments, Boston, MA, Aug. 31-Sept, vol. 3, 2015.
  16. G.J. Beyer, B. Eichler, T. Reetz, R. Muenze, J. Comor, New head process for nonHEU $^{99}Mo$-production based on the oxidation of irradiated $UO_2$-pellets forming soluble $U_3O_8$, Nucl. Technol. Radiat. Prot. 31 (2016) 102-108. https://doi.org/10.2298/NTRP1601102B
  17. S.-K. Lee, G.J. Beyer, J.S. Lee, Development of industrial-scale fission $^{99}Mo$ production using low enriched uranium target, Nucl. Eng. Technol. 48 (2016) 613-623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.net.2016.04.006
  18. H.J. Ryu, C.K. Kim, M. Sim, J.M. Park, J.H. Lee, Development of high-density U/Al dispersion plates for Mo-99 production using atomized uranium powder, Nucl. Eng. Technol. 45 (2013) 979-986. https://doi.org/10.5516/NET.07.2013.014
  19. M. Druce, Australian's Experiences with Non-HEU Mo-99 Production, Supporting Small-Scale Non-HEU Mo-99 Production Capacity Building, Coordination Meeting for TC Project INT1056, IAEA, Vienna, 2013.
  20. G.F. Vandegrift, G. Hofman, C. Conner, J. Sedlet, D. Walker, A. Leonard, E.L. Wood, T.C. Wiencek, J.L. Snelgrove, A. Mutalib, B. Purwadi, H.G. Adang, L. Hotman, K. Moeridoen, A. Sukmana, A.S. Sriyono, H. Nasution, D.L. Amin, A. Basiran, A. Gogo, D. Sunaryadi, T. Taryo, Full-scale demonstration of the CINTICHEM process for the production of Mo-99 using a low-enriched target, RERTR Meeting, Sao Paolo, Brazil (1998). Oct. 18-23.
  21. G.F. Vandegrift, D. Stepinski, J. Jerden, A. Gelis, E. Krahn, L. Hafenrichter, J. Holland, GTRI Process Technology in Technical Development for Conversion of $^{99}Mo$ Production to Low Enriched Uranium, RERTR Meeting, Santiago, 2011. Chile Oct. 23-27.
  22. J. Kuperman, The global threat reduction initiative and conversion of isotope production to LEU targets, in: Paper Presented at the 2004 International Meeting on Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors, Vienna, October 7, 2004.
  23. A. Sameh, Production cycle for large scale fission Mo-99 separation by the processing of irradiated LEU uranium silicide fuel element targets, Sci. Technol. Nucl. Install. (2013) 704846.
  24. S. Dittrich, History and actual state of non-HEU fission-based Mo-99 production with low-performance research reactors, Sci. Technol. Nucl. Install. (2013) 514894.
  25. R. Muenze, G.J. Beyer, R. Ross, G. Wagner, D. Novotny, E. Franke, M. Jehangir, S. Pervez, A. Mushtaq, The fission-based $^{99}Mo$ production process ROMOL-99 and its application to PINSTECH Islamabad, Sci. Technol. Nucl. Install. (2013) 932546.
  26. T. Kim, S.-K. Lee, S. Lee, J.S. Lee, S.W. Kim, Development of silver nanoparticle-doped adsorbents for the separation and recovery of radioactive iodine from alkaline solutions, Appl. Radiat. Isot. 129 (2017) 215-221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2017.07.033
  27. W.D. Bond, W.E. Clark, Reduction of Cupric Oxide by Hydrogen. I. Fundamental Kinetics, ORNL-2815, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, 1960.
  28. T.W. Bowyer, R. Kephart, P.W. Eslinger, J.I. Friese, H.S. Mile, P.R. Saey, Maximum reasonable radioxenon releases from medical isotope production facilities and their effect on monitoring nuclear explosions, J. Environ. Radioact. 115 (2003) 192-200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2012.07.018
  29. International Atomic Energy Agency, Management of Radioactive Waste from "Mo Production, IAEA-TECDOC-1051, IAEA, Vienna, 1998.

피인용 문헌

  1. Neutronics analysis of a stacked structure for a subcritical system with LEU solution driven by a D-T neutron source for 99Mo production vol.32, pp.11, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1007/s41365-021-00968-x
  2. Radioactive Fission Waste from Molybdenum-99 Production and Proliferation Risks vol.927, pp.1, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/927/1/012041