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226Ra irradiation to produce 225Ac and 213Bi in an accelerator-driven system reactor

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Abstract

This study aims to produce 229Th using an innovative nuclear reactor concept, i.e., accelerator-driven system (ADS) reactor. Herein, we investigated the feasibility of producing 229Th from neutron transmutation of 226Ra to expand the availability of 225Ac and 213Bi in a simple model of ADS reactor. ADS reactor comprises two zones, i.e., an inner zone with a fast neutron spectrum and outer zone with thermal neutron spectrum, which is a subcritical core coupled with an external neutron source. Transmutation behavior, activity, and mass ratio of the obtained isotopes were investigated using the Monte-Carlo tool. In addition with offering the capability, flexibility, and safety of radioactive waste transmutation, the proposed ADS model provides high 229Th yield and requires less time than a critical reactor with the same neutron flux and irradiated quantity of 226Ra.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy

    Amer A. Al Qaaod

  2. Institute for Safety Problems of NPPs, Kyiv, Ukraine

    Volodymyr Gulik

Authors
  1. Amer A. Al Qaaod
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  2. Volodymyr Gulik
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Correspondence to Amer A. Al Qaaod.

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This work was supported by the International Center for Theoretical Physics and the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund.

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Al Qaaod, A.A., Gulik, V. 226Ra irradiation to produce 225Ac and 213Bi in an accelerator-driven system reactor. NUCL SCI TECH 31, 44 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41365-020-00753-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41365-020-00753-2

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