A radioisotope production apparatus (RI) comprising an electron source arranged to provide an electron beam (E). The electron source comprises an electron injector (10) and an electron accelerator (20). The radioisotope production apparatus (RI) further comprises a target support structure configured to hold a target (30) and a beam splitter (40) arranged to direct the a first portion of the electron beam along a first path towards a first side of the target (30) and to direct a second portion of the electron beam along a second path towards a second side of the target (30).

In order to prepare a useful radioactive substance from radionuclides included in high-level radioactive waste and the like, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for preparing a radioactive substance including a muon irradiation step for obtaining a first radionuclide by causing negative muons to be incident onto a radioactive target nuclide and triggering a nuclear muon capture reaction. The prepared radioactive substance includes at least one of the first radionuclide and a second radionuclide that is at least one type of a descendant nuclide obtained from the first radionuclide through radioactive decay. An embodiment of the present invention also provides the radioactive substance.

A method of a method of irradiating a target material in a heavy water reactor for the production of an isotope, including the steps of providing a target comprised of a material suitable for producing the isotope by way of a neutron capture event, placing the target in a primary fluid side of the heavy water reactor, and irradiating the target.

A method and a system for eluting a desired activity concentration of a daughter radionuclide-containing eluate obtained from a mixture of mother/daughter radionuclides is disclosed. The method comprises contacting separation particles with an aqueous solution containing a mixture of mother and daughter radionuclides wherein daughter radionuclides bind to separation particles and mother radionuclides does not. That contact is maintained for a time for unbound daughter radionuclide to bind to the separation particles. The unbound mother radionuclide is separated from the daughter radionuclide-bound separation particles using a washing solution. A first fractional amount of the bound daughter radionuclide is stripped from the separation particles using a volume of stripping solution so that an aqueous eluate solution having a desired daughter radionuclide activity is obtained. The remaining aqueous solution containing a second fractional amount of the desired daughter radionuclide still in the aqueous solution is retained.

Systems and methods for separation or isolation of technetium radioisotopes from aqueous solutions of radioactive or non-radioactive molybdate salts using a polyalkyl glycol-based cross-linked polyether polymer. Some embodiments can be used for the effective purification of radioactive technetium-99m produced from low specific activity .sup.99Mo.

A process for the separation of .sup.99mTc from molybdenum targets is described. The method for separation of .sup.99mTc isotope from molybdenum targets includes: i) providing an initial multicomponent mixture of elements, the mixture containing .sup.99mTc; ii) dissolving the multicomponent mixture of elements with an oxidizing agent to oxidize the mixture of elements; iii) heating the mixture of elements at a temperature sufficiently high enough to sublimate a vaporized compound containing .sup.99mTc; iv) condensing the vaporized compound containing .sup.99mTc to form a reaction product; v) adding a base to the condensed reaction product to dissolve the .sup.99mTc containing reaction product to form sodium pertechnetate (Na.sup.99mTcO.sub.4); and vii) purifying the crude solution of sodium pertechnetate Na.sup.99mTcO.sub.4 using column chromatography to provide the .sup.99mTc isotope as a radiochemical compound.

A method for producing a reaction product containing .sup.99mTC may include providing .sup.100Mo-metal targets to be irradiated, irradiating the .sup.100Mo-metal target with a proton stream having an energy for the induction of a .sup.100Mo(p, 2n).sup.99mTC core reaction, heating the .sup.100Mo-metal target to over 300 C., recovering incurred .sup.99mTc in a sublimation-extraction process with the aid of oxygen gas which is conducted over the .sup.100 Mo-metal target forming .sup.99mTc-Technetium oxide. Further, a device for producing the reaction product containing .sup.99mTc may include a .sup.100Mo metal target, an acceleration unit for providing a proton stream, which can be directed to the .sup.100Mo-Metal target, such that a .sup.100Mo(p, 2n).sup.99mTC core reaction is induced upon irradiation of the .sup.100Mo-metal target by the proton stream, a gas supply line for conducting oxygen gas onto the irradiated .sup.100Mo-metal target to form .sup.99mTC-Technetium oxide, and a gas discharge line to discharge the sublimated .sup.99mTC-Technetium oxide.

A system and method for radioisotope production uses fast-neutron-caused fission of depleted or naturally occurring uranium targets in an irradiation chamber. Fast fission can be enhanced by having neutrons encountering the target undergo scattering or reflection to increase each neutron's probability of causing fission (n, f) reactions in U-238. The U-238 can be deployed as one or more layers sandwiched between layers of neutron-reflecting material, or as rods surrounded by neutron-reflecting material. The gaseous fission products can be withdrawn from the irradiation chamber on a continuous basis, and the radioactive iodine isotopes (including I-131) extracted.

A process for the separation of .sup.99mTc from molybdenum targets is described. The method for separation of .sup.99mTc isotope from molybdenum targets includes: i) providing an initial multicomponent mixture of elements, the mixture containing .sup.99mTc; ii) dissolving the multicomponent mixture of elements with an oxidizing agent to oxidize the mixture of elements; iii) heating the mixture of elements at a temperature sufficiently high enough to sublimate a vaporized compound containing .sup.99mTc; iv) condensing the vaporized compound containing .sup.99mTc to form a reaction product; v) adding a base to the condensed reaction product to dissolve the .sup.99mTc containing reaction product to form sodium pertechnetate (Na.sup.99mTcO.sub.4); and vii) purifying the crude solution of sodium pertechnetate Na.sup.99mTc04 using column chromatography to provide the .sup.99mTc isotope as a radiochemical compound.

Examples of apparatus and methods for transmutation of an element are disclosed. An apparatus can include a neutron emitter configured to emit neutrons with a neutron output, a neutron moderator configured to reduce the average energy of the neutron output to produce a moderated neutron output, a target configured to absorb neutrons when exposed to the moderated neutron output, the absorption of the neutrons by the target producing a transmuted element, and an extractor configured to extract the desired element. A method can include producing a neutron output, reducing the average energy of the neutron output with a neutron moderator to produce a moderated neutron output, absorbing neutrons from the moderated neutron output with the target to generate a transmuted element, and eluting a solution through the target to extract a desired element. In some examples, the target includes molybdenum-98, and the desired element includes technetium-99m.