Evaluation of 99Mo production based on molten salt reactor off-gas extraction

Abstract

BackgroundThe extraction of 99Mo medical isotopes from off-gas of molten salt reactors (MSRs) has attracted significant attention. However, previous studies focused only on the estimation of 99Mo nuclide production in the reactor core, and limited studies have focused on the expansion of the entire reactor system.PurposeThis study aims to estimate 99Mo production in the off-gas of a molten salt reactor.MethodsIn this study, a 99Mo migration model with noble metal deposition and a flow effect in an MSR was established by using scientific computing software “Mathematica”, and a corresponding verification based on the deposition result of a molten salt reactor experiment (MSRE) was implemented. Subsequently, an analysis was conducted on the impact of changes in the yield, specific activity, and operational status of 99Mo crude product in MSRE off-gas on the stability of production.ResultsThe analysis results of Mo transport in the MSRE show that the production of 99Mo in the off-gas can reach 69.30 TBq with a specific activity of 0.39 PBq∙g-1 under normal operating conditions. In addition, an increase in the removal rate is conducive to the effect on the specific activity of 99Mo whilst the working conditions of bubble surface ratio bubble ratio and oxidation-reduction potential changes have little effect on the specific activity of the product.ConclusionsThe 99Mo in off-gas has high yield and specific activity, and the effects of the conventional operating conditions on the specific activity of 99Mo are beneficial, which indicates that this method can be a potential alternative for 99Mo production.

Keywords

• molten salt reactor
• medical isotope
• 99mo
• msre
• nuclide migration