2018 Volume 17 Issue 1 Pages 18-23
A plan of an advanced fusion neutron source (A-FNS) using the d-Li reaction is being developed at Rokkasho site of National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST). Although the main objective of the A-FNS facility is fusion material irradiation, applications using fusion neutrons are being investigated. We calculated production yields of 99Mo, which is the parent nuclide of 99mTc and important in medical diagnosis, as one of the applications in order to evaluate the potential of the A-FNS. A modified IFMIF test cell design for the A-FNS was used to calculate the production of 99Mo by using the McDeLicious-11 code and FENDL-3.1b and FENDL/A-3.0 nuclear data libraries. At a position on the surface of a high-flux test module, we estimated the activity of 99Mo to be 83 TBq, which was obtained from the 100Mo(n,2n)99Mo reaction in a 2-day irradiation, for a 100%-enriched 100Mo sample of 250 g. This amount covers almost all of the demand for 99Mo in Japan per week. The use of a natural molybdenum sample is also a promising candidate as an inexpensive 99Mo production method, because the 98Mo(n,γ)99Mo reaction has large capture cross sections in the resonance energy region.
