Comparison of characteristics of solution and conventional reactors for {sup 99}Mo production
- Dept. of Energy, Los Alamos, NM (United States). Los Alamos Area Office
- Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Nearly all the {sup 99m}Tc administered to patients is obtained from eluting a radionuclide generator. The generators manufactured by the US radiopharmaceutical companies use only the high-specific activity molybdenum produced by the fission of uranium. The dominant production methods are those used by Cintichem, Inc. and Nordion International. There are, however, competing methods of the production of fission-based {sup 99}Mo. One of the most promising proposed alternatives is the use of solution reactors (or homogeneous reactors). The operational characteristics of conventional reactors (i.e., Cintichem process) and those of solution reactors to produce {sup 99}Mo for use in manufacturing {sup 99}Mo/{sup 99m}Tc generators are examined. The use of conventional reactors has the disadvantage of generating large amounts of radioactive waste. The use of solution reactors can significantly reduce this problem. Both methods require rigorous processing to meet the purity requirements due to the presence of fission product contamination.
- OSTI ID:
- 477299
- Journal Information:
- Nuclear Technology, Vol. 118, Issue 2; Other Information: PBD: May 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
The future supply of molybdenum-99
Cyclotron production of molybdenum-99 via proton-induced uranium-238 fission