Enrichment of 54Fe by Electromagnetic Isotope Separator (EMIS)

Abstract

Electromagnetic Isotopes Separator (EMIS) has been installed in Karaj since 1991 in order to separate isotopes of a wide range of elements. Iron is successfully separated. Iron element has four stable isotopes, 58Fe, 57Fe, 56Fe and 54Fe. The natural abundance of 54Fe is 5.8%. The 54Fe isotope is used for production of radioisotope 55Fe which in turn is used as an electron capture detector and in X-ray fluorescence. The copper pockets and graphite front plate were designed and fabricated for separating and collecting Fe isotopes. After the selection and preparation of charge material, the electrical parameter of ion source and electromagnet were recognized. The mass spectra of iron isotope were recorded. The deposited 54Fe isotope was extracted from copper pocket and purified by electrodeposition, solvent extraction and purification methods. Chemical and enrichment analyses of 54Fe isotope were made by ICP-AES and TIMS, respectively. The formation of 54Fe2O3 was confirmed by the X-ray diffraction.

Keywords

• enrichment
• electromagnetic isotope separator
• fe-54