Recovery and Recycle of Irradiated Low-Enriched Uranium from the Production of ⁹⁹Mo

Technical Report · Thu Apr 01 04:00:00 EDT 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1780910· OSTI ID:1780910

Brown, M. Alex ^[1]; Vandegrift, George F. ^[1]; Copple, Jackie M. ^[1]; Tkac, Peter ^[1]

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1. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Technetium-99m (^99mTc), the daughter (decay product) of molybdenum-99 (⁹⁹Mo), is the most commonly used medical radioisotope in the world. ⁹⁹Mo is produced primarily from the fissioning of ²³⁵U. A potential future producer, Eden Radioisotopes, is planning to irradiate low-enriched-uranium metal-foil targets for production of ⁹⁹Mo. Their plan is to recover, purify, and recycle the irradiated LEU in a new set of targets inside their facility. This study assesses processes to (1) purify and recycle uranium following ⁹⁹Mo recovery and (2) convert the uranium to metal for subsequent foil production and target fabrication. A UREX (uranium recovery by extraction) liquid–liquid extraction flowsheet that utilizes centrifugal contactors was developed using the Argonne model for universal solvent extraction (AMUSE) to recover and purify the uranium. The calculated flowsheet predicted high decontamination from Pu and most fission products and >99.99% recovery of uranium. Suggestions for conversion of the UREX U-product (uranyl nitrate in dilute nitric acid) to U metal were provided based on literature studies and earlier laboratory studies performed at Argonne National Laboratory.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 1780910
• Report Number(s): ANL--21/22; 167905
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE