Evaluation of promethium-147 production as a by-product of the fission molybdenum-99 process in Tehran research reactor

Abstract

Abstract Molybdenum-99 and some other fission products such as promethium-147 are formed by the fission of 235U. Applying an efficient separation approach, the 147Pm can be isolated. The production of 147Pm as a by-product of previously optimized conditions for fission molybdenum-99 process is precisely evaluated. Considering the numerous radionuclides with various half-lives accompanying the 147Pm as impurities, a precise time window can be determined to perform an efficient separation process. The fission products activity calculations, using MCNPX and ORIGEN2.1 computer codes, were performed to achieve such a proper time window. Here, it is shown that 300 days after the end of bombardment (EOB), the radioactivity of the other radionuclides is reduced to 1% of 147Pm radioactivity. The chemical process needed to separate the remaining radionuclides is then explained in detail.