The feasibility study of 177Lu production in Miniature Neutron Source Reactors using a multi-stage approach in Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

Miniature neutron source reactors (MNSRs) are among the safest and economic research reactors with potentials to be used for neutron studies. This manuscript explores the feasibility of 177Lu production in Isfahan MNSR reactor using direct production route. In this study, to assess the specific activity of the produced radioisotope, a simulation was carried out through the MCNPX2.6 code. The simulation was validated by irradiating a lutetium disc-like (99.98 chemical purity) at the thermal neutron flux of 5 × 1011 ncm2s−1 and an irradiation time of 4min.After the spectrometry of the irradiated sample, the experimental results of 177Lu production were compared with the simulation results. In addition, Σn,γφ factor from the simulation was extracted by replacing it in the related equations in order to calculate specific activity through a multi-stage approach, and by using different irradiation techniques. The results showed that the simulation technique designed in this study is in agreement with the experimental approach (with a difference of approximately 3%). It was also found that the maximum 177Lu production at the maximum flux and irradiation time allows access to 723.5mCi/g after 27 cycles. Furthermore, the comparison of irradiation techniques showed that increasing the irradiation time is more effective in 177Lu production efficiency than increasing the number of irradiation cycles. In a way that increasing the irradiation time would postpone the saturation of the productions. On the other hand, it was shown that the choice of an appropriate irradiation technique for 177Lu production can be economically important in term of the effective fuel consumption in the reactor.