Design of the Phase-2 Target for Mini-SHINE/MIPS Experiments
- Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Under the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI), Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) is assisting three potential domestic producers to develop and implement molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) production in the United States without the use of highly enriched uranium (HEU). Two of the potential domestic producers are Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services Group (B&W) and Morgridge Institute for Research (MIR). B&W is developing the Medical Isotope Production System (MIPS). In this system, the Mo-99 is produced in an LEU-fueled Aqueous Homogenous Reactor (AHR) by the fissioning of uranium-235 (U-235). The MIPS consists of an AHR containing a low enriched uranium (LEU) solution, a molybdenum-extraction system utilizing a chromatographic column, and a reactor off-gas and solution-control systems. The use of AHRs presents an attractive alternative to the conventional target-irradiation method for producing Mo-99 because the fuel solution itself is used to produce Mo-99, eliminating the need for targets. AHRs also operate at a much lower power level than that required for a traditional reactor. The three areas of Argonne research and development (R&D) are (1) radiolytic-gas generation in the fuel solution, (2) effects of fission and radiation on reactor-solution chemistry, and (3) development and optimization recovery of molybdenum from the irradiated fuel solution.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 1132253
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/CSE--14/9
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- ENGLISH
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