Article Figures & Data
Figures
- FIGURE 1.
Decay scheme of 99Mo and 99mTc. T1/2 = half-life.
- FIGURE 2.
99Mo production by 100Mo(γ,n)99Mo photon-induced reaction.
- FIGURE 3.
Schematic view of ADS concept for 99Mo production.
Tables
Uranium grade Designation 235U content (%) NU Natural uranium 0.7 LEU Low enriched uranium ≤20 HEU High enriched uranium ≤20 HEU Weapons-grade uranium ≥85 Country Reactor name Power (MWt) Thermal neutron flux (n·cm−2·s−1) Target type Canada NRU 135 4.0 × 1014 HEU Netherlands HFR 45 2.7 × 1014 HEU Belgium BR-2 100 1.0 × 1015 HEU South Africa Safari-1 20 2.4 × 1014 HEU France OSIRIS 70 1.7 × 1014 HEU Poland MARIA 30 3.5 × 1014 HEU Australia OPAL 20 3.0 × 1014 LEU Production method Target Product Comment Reactor-based strategies HEU 235U 99Mo Current commercial technology LEU 235U 99Mo Transition for routine production 98Mo 98Mo 99Mo Low-specific-activity product Use of power reactors 98Mo 99Mo Low-specific-activity product; under consideration Aqueous homogeneous reactor–based technology 235U 99Mo Under development as major alternative Accelerator-based strategies Photo-fission 238U 99Mo All are under development as major alternatives Photo transmutation of 100Mo 100Mo 99Mo Direct production of 99mTc 100Mo 99mTc Subcritical hybrid intense neutron emitter LEU 99Mo ADS LEU 99Mo Fission 99Mo (n,γ)99Mo Target 235U (HEU or LEU); enriched 235U in the form of uranium–aluminum alloy, foil, or pellet 98Mo (natural or enriched) in the form of MoO3, molybdenum metal, or pellet Nuclear reaction n + 235U → 99Mo + F.P. + 2.5 n; σfission = 586 b; fission yield of 99Mo = 6% n + 98Mo → 99Mo; σth = 0.14 b Availability of target Limited producers/suppliers Widely available 99Mo specific activity High (185–370 TBq/g); independent of reactor neutron flux Low (7.4–130 GBq/g) depending on the reactor neutron flux Postirradiation process Complex chemical process consists of a series of precipitation and ion exchange procedures Simple dissolution of the irradiated solid targets Processing facility Expensive Economical Radioactive waste Significant amount of radioactive waste including fission products, uranium, and plutonium Negligible Security and nonproliferation concerns High Negligible Production capability Restricted to few countries Widely distributed Cost of production High Low Quality of 99mTc No carrier added; suitable for nuclear medicine applications No carrier added; suitable for nuclear medicine applications Method Status/comments Extraction from methyl ethyl ketone Established/high-yield technology Postelution concentration Widespread verification Solid-phase column extraction Promising technologies but only small-scale experimental verification Zirconium-molybdate gel High-binding adsorbents Electrochemical generator
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