Development on Mo production technique by solution irradiation method; Characterization of aqueous molybdate solutions
Inaba, Yoshitomo ; Ishikawa, Koji*; Tatenuma, Katsuyoshi*; Ishitsuka, Etsuo
A solution irradiation method is proposed as a new production technique of Mo, which is the parent nuclide of Tc used as a radiopharmaceutical. In this new method, an aqueous molybdenum solution is irradiated with neutron in a nuclear reactor, and efficient and low cost Mo production comparing with conventional Mo production methods can be realized by using the Mo (n,) Mo reaction and a high performance adsorbent for (n,) Mo. In the present research, some tests under unirradiation and -ray irradiation were carried out using two kinds of aqueous molybdate solutions to be candidates for the irradiation target of the new method, and the corrosivity for structural materials, chemical stability, radiolysis and heating of the solutions were investigated. As a result, it was found that the solutions are promising as the target and that stainless steel can be used as the structural material of capsules and pipes.