Production cross-sections of residual nuclides from Zr + at 27 MeV/nucleon

Hwang, J.*; Chillery, T.*; Dozono, Masanori*; Imai, Nobuaki*; Michimasa, Shinichiro*; Sumikama, Toshiyuki*; Chiga, Nobuyuki*; Ota, Shinsuke*; Nakayama, Shinsuke  ; 49 of others*

Nuclear transmutation emerges as a promising approach for reprocessing high-level waste, specifically treating long-lived nuclides like Zr from spent fuel. It is essential to accumulate reaction data for these nuclei to advance this prominent treatment and to build a comprehensive understanding of reaction mechanisms. In this study, the residual production cross-sections resulting from proton-induced reactions on Zr were measured at 27 MeV/nucleon in inverse kinematics. At the RIKEN-RIBF facility the OEDO beamline was used to deduce production cross-sections for isotopes, Nb, Zr, and Y. Comparing the results from this study and prior research with calculated excitation functions, a moderate agreement is found with theoretical predictions derived from TALYS and CCONE. Despite the potential limitations of low-energy proton-induced reactions for Zr transmutation, the measured cross-sections offer valuable insights for future considerations in nuclear-waste treatment facilities. This is particularly relevant for facilities exploring innovative methods, such as accelerator-driven systems.