super(89)Sr production in a reactor with solution fuel

The experimental results for the validation of a technology for producing super(89)Sr in a reactor with solution fuel are presented. The aggregate state of the fuel-a water solution of uranyl sulfate UO sub(2)SO sub(4)-opens up a unique possibility of acting not only on the target radionuclide but also on its genetic precursors, produced as a result of nuclear transformations of the fission products as a whole in the decay chain super(89)Se1 super(89) Br1 super(89)Kr1 super(89)Rb1 super(89)Sr. The half-life of super(89)Kr (T sub(1/2) = 190 sec)-a gaseous precursor of super(89)Sr-is sufficient for it to leave the fuel solution and migrate into the gaseous medium. A series of experiments is performed on obtaining gas samples from the free volume of the solution of the 20 kW Argus minireactor. It is shown that the mechanism of delivery of super(89)Sr into the sorption volume of the experimental loop of the Argus reactor system is based on transport along the super(89)Kr loop. Measurements of the content of the radioactive impurities in a solution of super(89)SrCl sub(2) showed that the purification of the gas flow by metal-ceramic filters and purification of the solution on DOWEX-508 or crown ehter Sr-Resin yields medical quality super(89)Sr. The productivity of the new technology, which is many-fold greater than that of the modern industrial methods for producing super(89)Sr, is assessed on the basis of experimental data.