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http://hdl.handle.net/11375/23981
Title: | Producing Medical Radioisotopes with CANDU Nuclear Reactors |
Authors: | Sutherland, Zachary |
Advisor: | Novog, David |
Department: | Engineering Physics and Nuclear Engineering |
Keywords: | lutetium-177;molybdenum-99;radium-223;lead-212;bismuth-212;Mo-99;radioisotope;CANDU;DRAGON;DONJON;NJOY |
Publication Date: | 2018 |
Abstract: | In the field of nuclear medicine, radioisotopes are used for applications such as diagnostic imag- ing, treatment, and equipment sterilization. The most commonly used radioisotope in medicine is technetium-99m (Tc-99m). It is used in 80% of all nuclear medicine procedures. Its parent isotope is molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). NRU, which is now closed, formerly produced 40% of the worlds demand for Mo-99. The production capacity of this reactor has been supplemented by a network of cyclotrons and a modified research reactor. This study aims to provide an alternative means of production for Mo-99, as well as other radioisotopes by modifying the center pin of a standard 37-element bundle of a CANDU reactor. The neutron transport code DRAGON, and the neutron diffusion code DONJON were used to model a CANDU-9 reactor. The lowest, median, and highest power channels were chosen as candi- dates for the modified bundles. It was found that the reactor parameters were altered by a negligible amount when any one channel was used to house the modified bundles. Significant quantities of the radioisotope lutetium-177 as well as the generating isotopes of the alpha-emitting radioisotopes lead- 212/bismuth-212, and radium-223 were produced. However, only minute amounts of molybdenum-99, and the generating isotope of bismuth-213 were produced. |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11375/23981 |
Appears in Collections: | Open Access Dissertations and Theses |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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Sutherland_Zachary_R_2018December_MAScEngieeringPhysics.pdf | 2.9 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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