Production de 131I sans porteur a partir d'acide tellurique

Abstract

The described method uses telluric acid (H 6TeO 6) as a target for the production of 131I in nuclear reactors. The performed experiments indicate that it is sufficient to dissolve the target in water in presence of a strong acid and to distil in order to carry over the iodine as I − and I 2. The method eliminates the difficulties of target dissolution and makes it possible to obtain a very pure distillate after an easily performed separation. It is possible to use the sulphuric and phosphoric acids indefinitely but an excess of either acid increases the distillate acidity. The irradiations were carried out in the BR 1 reactor at Mol in a thermal flux of about 10 9 to 2 × 10 12 neutrons/cm 2/sec in temperature conditions never exceeding 90°C. The valency-state of the distilled iodine seems to be independent of the flux and of the integrated flux to which the target is submitted. Apparatus and production method are described.