Gadolinium-153 production at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Abstract

Gadolinium-153 production at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) involves the neutron irradiation of natural europium oxide (47.8% ^-^Eu, 52.2% 153E U)_ Yhj s target material undergoes a series of neutron captures and radioactive decays to produce the desired l^Gd product. Several undesirable europium isotopes (l^Eu, 154^U) anc j 156^uj are a-] s o produced during this irradiation process. Recent technical advances and other improvements in the radiochemical processing of this isotope have allowed ORNL to increase production by more than sevenfold. A newly developed electrochemical process has allowed the separation of the bulk of undesirable europium isotopes and has also affected a more efficient use of high-pressure ion exchange to achieve a final product radiochemical purity >99.999%. Specific activities >60 Ci/g of gadolinium oxide and product specific yields >2.9 Ci/g of irradiated europium oxide have been produced. Use of unique glove box manipulators and special equipment designed at ORNL have allowed final source fabrication to keep pace with the increased production rate while minimizing the radiation exposure to operating personnel.

Nuclear excitation functions from 40 to 200 MeV proton irradiation of terbium

“…Older reactor processes which activated europium targets of natural isotopic abundance produced undesirable quantities of 155 Gd from successive neutron capture reactions on the 153 Eu (52.19% n.a.) present in the target [41]. A method for production of 153 Gd free from the presence of odd-mass gadolinium isotopic contamination would be necessary for useful neutron capture cross section measurements on this radionuclide.…”

Fission spectrum averaged cross section measurements of some neutron threshold reactions of relevance to medical radionuclide production

“…It is also being used as the photon source in dual-photon absorptiometry (DPA) machines, which are used to determine bone mineral content in osteoporosis patients [32,33]. Another application is low-energy radiation source in X-ray fluorescence analysis with field instruments for tin and silver determination in ore [34]. 153 Gd is generally produced in a nuclear reactor with thermal neutron irradiation of natural europium by the 151 Eu(n, γ) 152 Eu → 152 Gd(n, γ) 153 Gd process [34].…”

“…Another application is low-energy radiation source in X-ray fluorescence analysis with field instruments for tin and silver determination in ore [34]. 153 Gd is generally produced in a nuclear reactor with thermal neutron irradiation of natural europium by the 151 Eu(n, γ) 152 Eu → 152 Gd(n, γ) 153 Gd process [34]. Production of 153 Gd via 151 Eu(α, 2n) 153 Tb → 153 Gd and 153 Eu( p, n) 153 Gd reactions has also been reported in the literature [31,35].…”

Measurement of fission neutron spectrum averaged cross sections of some threshold reactions on dysprosium: small-scale production of no-carrier-added153Gd in a nuclear reactor

“…It is also being used as the photon source in dual-photon absorptiometry (DPA) machines, which are used to determine bone mineral content in osteoporosis patients [2,3]. Another application is low-energy radiation source in X-ray fluorescence analysis with field instruments for tin and silver determination in ore [4]. 153 Gd is generally produced in a nuclear reactor with thermal neutron irradiation of natural europium by the 151 Eu(n, γ ) 152 Eu → 152 Gd(n, γ ) 153 Gd reaction [4].…”

“…Another application is low-energy radiation source in X-ray fluorescence analysis with field instruments for tin and silver determination in ore [4]. 153 Gd is generally produced in a nuclear reactor with thermal neutron irradiation of natural europium by the 151 Eu(n, γ ) 152 Eu → 152 Gd(n, γ ) 153 Gd reaction [4]. Production of 153 Gd via 151 Eu(α, 2n) 153 Tb → 153 Gd and 153 Eu( p, n) 153 Gd reactions has also been reported in the literature [1,5].…”