Preliminary tests on adsorption / desorption of alumina adsorbents

Suzuki, Yoshitaka  ; Ishida, Takuya*; Suzuki, Yumi*; Matsukura, Minoru*; Kurosaki, Fumio*; Nishikata, Kaori ; Mimura, Hitoshi*; Tsuchiya, Kunihiko 

The research and development (R&D) on the production of Mo/Tc by (n,) method has been carried out in the Neutron Irradiation and Testing Reactor Center. The Mo production by (n,) reaction is a simple and easy method, and it also is advantageous from viewpoints of nuclear proliferation resistance and waste management. However, it is difficult to produce the Tc solution with high radioactive concentration because the specific radioactivity of Mo by this method is extremely low. Up to now, various Mo absorbents such as Polyzirconium Compound (PZC) and Polytitanium Compound (PTC) have been developed with high Mo adsorption efficiency. It is necessary for utilization to the generator of these absorbents to evaluate the effect of elements containing these absorbents and to assure the quality of Tc solution. In this report, the status of R&D of the Mo adsorbents was investigated. The alumina as Mo adsorbent, which uses in medical Mo/Tc generator, was focused and Mo adsorption/desorption properties of three kinds of alumina was evaluated by different properties such as crystal structure and specific surface.