• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.5
• /
• pp.1863-1870
• /
• 2023

Molybdenum-99 (⁹⁹Mo) is used for preparing Technetium-99 m (^99mTc), which is the most widely used isotope in nuclear medicine. In this work, a study for ⁹⁹Mo production based on a high-power electron accelerator has been performed as an alternative approach to produce ^99mTc. In this study, Monte Carlo MCNPX2.6 code has been used to examine a novel idea of simultaneous hybrid production of ⁹⁹Mo via both photoneutron and neutron capture reactions using an electron accelerator in heavy water tank. It is expected that this conceptual design including an arrangement of metallic plates of ¹⁰⁰Mo and ⁹⁸Mo produces total activity of 97.5 Ci at the end of 20-h continuous e-beam irradiation (30 MeV, 10 mA).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.97-105
• /
• 1997

Mo-99(Molybdenum) is the only source of Tc-99m(Technetium) which is most frequently used in nuclear medical diagnostics and the demand is on the increase recently. Separation and refining of Mo-99 was investigated by adsorption and desorption on alumina. At pH=0.63, adsorption isotherm of Mo was fitted by Redlich ＆ Peterson equation using the adsorption experimental data. It was found that the pore diffusion model ($D_p=1.4{\times}10^{-6}cm^2/s, K_f/=0.4 cm/s$) agreed well with batch adsorption experimental data. RTDs(Residence Time Distributions ) were measured and axial dispersion coefficients were obtained in the fixed bed absorber according to the changes of the flow rate using 0.05% -NaCl. From the adsorption experimental data, it was shown that the behavior of breakthroughs depended on flow rate. Mo recovery yield was increased as adsorption flow rate was increased and desorption flow rate was decreased.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.48 no.3
• /
• pp.613-623
• /
• 2016

Molybdenum-99 ($^{99}Mo$) is the most important isotope because its daughter isotope, technetium-99m ($^{99m}Tc$), has been the most widely used medical radioisotope for more than 50 years, accounting for > 80% of total nuclear diagnostics worldwide. In this review, radiochemical routes for the production of $^{99}Mo$, and the aspects for selecting a suitable process strategy are discussed from the historical viewpoint of $^{99}Mo$ technology developments. Most of the industrial-scale $^{99}Mo$ processes have been based on the fission of $^{235}U$. Recently, important issues have been raised for the conversion of fission $^{99}Mo$ targets from highly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium (LEU). The development of new LEU targets with higher density was requested to compensate for the loss of $^{99}Mo$ yield, caused by a significant reduction of $^{235}U$ enrichment, from the conversion. As the dramatic increment of intermediate level liquid waste is also expected from the conversion, an effective strategy to reduce the waste generation from the fission $^{99}Mo$ production is required. The mitigation of radioxenon emission from medical radioisotope production facilities is discussed in relation with the monitoring of nuclear explosions and comprehensive nuclear test ban. Lastly, the $^{99}Mo$ production process paired with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute's own LEU target is proposed as one of the most suitable processes for the LEU target.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.155-161
• /
• 2015

Technetium-99m (^99mTc) is an important, short-lived decay product of molybdenum-99 (⁹⁹Mo), and it is considered the backbone of the modern nuclear diagnostic procedures. Since fission of ²³⁵U is the main source of production of ⁹⁹Mo, either highly-enriched uranium (HEU) targets or low-enriched uranium (LEU) targets are irradiated in the research reactors. The use of LEU targets is being promoted by the international community to avoid the proliferation issues linked with the use of HEU. In order to define the waste management strategy at the planning stage of establishment of an LEU based ⁹⁹Mo production facility, the impact of the use of LEU targets on the radioactive waste stream of the ⁹⁹Mo production facility was analyzed. Because the volume of uranium waste is estimated to increase six times, the use of high uranium density targets and the utilization of hot isostatic pressing were recommended to reduce the increased waste volume from the use of LEU based targets.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.28-32
• /
• 1990

We have constructed and operated a discharge heated copper vapor laser which generated green (510.6 nm) and yellow (578.2 nm) light. The plasma tube was made of high purity (99.8%) alumina tube which has an inner diameter 25 mm and a length 106 cm. The electrodes, made of molybdenum sheet, were separated 108 cm apart. The laser gave an average power of 10 W at repetition rate of 5 kHz, charging voltage of 10 kV, Ne buffer gas pressure of 40 mbar, and the laser tube temperature of $1500^{\circ}C$..

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.297-301
• /
• 2006

Si/Mo multilayer anode consisting of active/inactive material was prepared using rf/dc magnetron sputtering. Molybdenum acts as a buffer against the volume change of the Silicon. Multilayer deposited on RT (reversible treatment) copper foil current collector to enhance adhesion between Silicon and copper foil. Deposited Silicon was identified as an amorphous. Amorphous has a relatively open structure than crystal structure, thus prevents the lattice expansion and has many diffusion paths of Li ion. When deposited time of Silicon and Molybdenum is 30 second and 2 second respectably, electrode has more capacity and good cycle stability. A 3000 nm thick multilayer was maintained 99% of the initial capacity (1624 $mAhg^{-1}$) after 100 cycles. As the increase of the multilayer thickness (4500 nm, 6000 nm), Si/Mo mutilayer anodes show aggravation cycle stability.

• Resources Recycling
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.40-45
• /
• 2011

We carried out to investigate the refining effect of molybdenum by Ar-H$_2$ vacuum arc melting(VAM) process for recycling Mo scrap. The purity of the Mo metals refined by VAM was evaluated using glow discharge mass spectromety(GDMS). From the result of GDMS, most impurities in the Mo metals except for W were removed by Ar-H$_2$ VAM down to a few mass ppm levels. The purity of the refined molybdenum scrap was improved up to 4N5(99.995%) from 3N(99.95%) of the initial Mo scrap. The amount of gaseous impurities such as C, N, and O in Mo scrap were decreased from 1290 ppm to 132 ppm. As a result, it is considered that a possibility of refining and cost-effective method for recycling Mo scrap by Ar-H$_2$ vacuum arc melting process was confirmed in this study.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.235-241
• /
• 2010

Mo nanopowder was synthesized by ball-milling and subsequent hydrogen-reduction of $MoO_3$ powder. To fabricate ultra fine grained molybdenum, two-step sintering and spark plasma sintering process were employed. The grain size of specimen by two-step sintering and spark plasma sintering was around $0.6\;{\mu}m$ and $0.4\;{\mu}m$, respectively. Mechanical properties of ultra fine grained Mo with relative density of above 90% were significantly improved at room and high temperatures comparing to commercial bulk Mo of 99% relative density. This result was mainly explained by the grain size refinement due to diffusion-controlled sintering.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.30 no.5
• /
• pp.436-441
• /
• 2023

Molybdenum-tungsten (Mo-W) alloy sputtering targets are widely utilized in fields like electronics, nanotechnology, sensors, and as gate electrodes for TFT-LCDs, owing to their superior properties such as high-temperature stability, low thermal expansion coefficient, electrical conductivity, and corrosion resistance. To achieve optimal performance in application, these targets' purity, relative density, and grain size of these targets must becarefully controlled. We utilized nanopowders, prepared via the Pechini method, to obtain uniform and fine powders, then carried out spark plasma sintering (SPS) to densify these powders. Our studies revealed that the sintered compacts made from these nanopowders exhibited outstanding features, such as a high relative density of more than 99%, consistent grain size of 3.43 ㎛, and shape, absence of preferred orientation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.365-374
• /
• 1999

A nuclear design of fission moly production targets for a research reactor, HANARO was peformed. It was found that the use of MCNP-4A, ORIGEN-2 code was reliable for the analysis of production characteristics of $^{99}$ Mo in a target fuel at an irradiation holes. A parametric study was done for the optimization of target location, target dimension, target shape and fuel materials. It was shown that a fuel thickness was the most sensitive parameters and electro-deposited target gave the highest 99Mo yield ratio. A pellet target with vibro-compaction powder, however, showed the largest production capacity and better engineering feasibility even with less yield ratio. Ten kinds of optimized target design for both LEU and HEU satisfied all the given design constraints. The most favorable design was the HEU ring-shaped electro-deposited target, considered the safety limit, production yield, chemical process easiness, yield ratio, and amount of radioactive waste.