Medical Isotope Production in Liquid-Fluoride Reactors Kirk Sorensen Flibe Energy Huntsville, Alabama kirk.sorensen@flibe-energy.com 256 679 9985 Flibe Energy was formed in order to develop liquid-fluoride reactor technology and to supply the world with affordable and sustainable energy, water and fuel. Liquid-Fluoride Reactor Concept Reactor Containment Boundary Turbine Coolant LiF-BeF2-UF4 LiF-BeF2 outlet Primary HX Gas Heater Gas Cooler Generator Reactor core Compressor Coolant inlet Drain Freeze valve Tank Electrical Warm Recompressor Main Compressor Turbine Generator Saturated Air Cool Dry Air Gas Heater High-Temp Low-Temp Gas Cooler Recuperator Recuperator Cooling Water Accum Surge Short-Term Gas Holdup Cryogenic Long-Term Gas Holdup Storage Accum Surge ea Fluor Decay Scrub Decay Tank KOH Bi(Th) Bi(Pa,U) Isotopic Quench metallic Th feed H2 ulFluorinator Fuel 2Reduction H2 HF Electro Bi(Th,FP) Bi(Li) Cell metallic HDLi feed F2 Water Water Coolant Coolant Torus Torus Drain Tank Waste Tank 7 Fuel Salt ( LiF-BeF2-UF4) Fresh Offgas UF6-F2 200-bar CO2 7 Blanket Salt ( LiF-ThF4-BeF2) 1-day Offgas F2 77-bar CO2 7 Coolant salt ( LiF-BeF2) 3-day Offgas HF-H2 Water 7 Decay Salt ( LiF-BeF2-(Th,Pa)F4) 90-day Offgas H2 Waste Salt (LiF-CaF2-(FP)F3) Helium Bismuth The Molten-Salt Reactor Experiment was an experimental reactor system that demonstrated key technologies. Lanthanide Fission Products Alkali- and Alkaline-Earth Fission Product Fluorides c ORNL-TM-3884 THE MIGRATION OF A CLASS OF FISSION PRODUCTS (NOBLE METALS) IN THE MOLTEN-SALT REACTOR EXPERIMENT R. J. Ked1 Addressing Molten Salt Contamination Salt Purification by NF3 Fluorination Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) could be used to purify salts from any oxide or sulfide contamination as well as to remove noble metals. NF3 is much less aggressive towards container materials. 3BeO + 2NF3 ! 3BeF2 + N2 + 1:5O2 3Li2O + 2NF3 ! 6LiF + N2 + 1:5O2 Mo + 2NF3 ! MoF6 + N2 Tc + 2NF3 ! TcF6 + N2 Molybdenum-99 is a fairly common fission product About 5% of the fission reactions in uranium-233 generate molybdenum-99. Strontium-90 Molybdenum-99 Lanthanides Krypton Xenon Promethium- 147 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 101 103 105 107 109 111 113 115 117 119 121 123 125 127 129 131 133 135 137 139 141 143 145 147 149 151 153 155 Vastly Simplified 99Mo Production in LFTR Fluoride salts are safe and versatile Chemically stable in air and water Unpressurized liquid with 1000◦C range of temperature Large power reactors make vast amounts of Mo-99 ...which unfortunately due to high pressure is utterly inaccessible... operation and the use of solid nuclear fuel. Unique Technology Intersection Power-generating Medical-isotope- reactors generating reactors LFTR LWR, HWR, HTGR, NRU, HFR, OPAL, LMFBR, FHR, BR2, Safari, TRIGA, GFR SHINE, TRIUMF North American Competition for 99Mo Production 235 99 I U(n; f ) Mo in solid uranium targets (LEU or HEU) I NorthWest Medical Isotopes, Corvallis, Oregon I Coqui Pharmaceuticals, Coral Gables, Florida I Eden Radioisotopes, Albuquerque, New Mexico I General Atomics, San Diego, California 98 99 I Mo (n; γ) Mo in solid molybdenum targets I NorthStar Medical Isotopes, Madison, Wisconsin I GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Wilmington, North Carolina 3 4 I H(d; n) He in subcritical aqueous uranium solution I SHINE Medical Technologies, Monona, Wisconsin 100 − 99 I Mo (e ! γ; n) Mo in solid molybdenum target I NorthStar Medical Isotopes, Madison, Wisconsin 100 99m I Mo (p; 2n) Tc in solid molybdenum target I TRIUMF, Vancouver, British Columbia Small MSR would produce globally-significant 99Mo 100 MWt Facility for Assured Power Generation 2015 TECHNICAL REPORT Program on Technology Innovation: Technology Assessment of a Molten Salt Reactor Design The Liquid-Fluoride Thorium Reactor (LFTR) Electric Power Research Institute 3420 Hillview Avenue, Palo Alto, California 94304-1338 • PO Box 10412, Palo Alto, California 94303-0813 USA 800.313.3774 • 650.855.2121 • [email protected] • www.epri.com My Own Little Medical Radioisotope Experience.