US3545925A - Method for producing radioactive tellurium - Google Patents

Method for producing radioactive tellurium Download PDF

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Publication number
US3545925A
US3545925A US581494A US3545925DA US3545925A US 3545925 A US3545925 A US 3545925A US 581494 A US581494 A US 581494A US 3545925D A US3545925D A US 3545925DA US 3545925 A US3545925 A US 3545925A
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tellurium
solution
radioactive
hydrochloric acid
metal
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US581494A
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English (en)
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Hirokazu Umezawa
Hiroshi Okashita
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Japan Atomic Energy Agency
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Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
    • G21F—PROTECTION AGAINST X-RADIATION, GAMMA RADIATION, CORPUSCULAR RADIATION OR PARTICLE BOMBARDMENT; TREATING RADIOACTIVELY CONTAMINATED MATERIAL; DECONTAMINATION ARRANGEMENTS THEREFOR
    • G21F9/00—Treating radioactively contaminated material; Decontamination arrangements therefor
    • G21F9/04—Treating liquids
    • G21F9/06—Processing
    • G21F9/10—Processing by flocculation
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C01—INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C01B—NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS; COMPOUNDS THEREOF; METALLOIDS OR COMPOUNDS THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASS C01C
    • C01B19/00—Selenium; Tellurium; Compounds thereof
    • C01B19/02—Elemental selenium or tellurium
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C01—INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C01P—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO STRUCTURAL AND PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF SOLID INORGANIC COMPOUNDS
    • C01P2006/00—Physical properties of inorganic compounds
    • C01P2006/88—Isotope composition differing from the natural occurrence

Definitions

  • Radioactive tellurium is produced by dissolving a nuclear fission product containing radioactive tellurium in an aqueous hydrogen halide or thiocyanate solution, introducing Ni, Cu, Bi, Hg or Ag into the solution to deposit radioactive tellurium selectively thereon, separating the metal with it tellurium deposit from the solution, and recovering radioactive tellurium from the metal.
  • This invention relates to a process for producing radioactive tellurium, a mother nuclide of short half-life radioactive iodine which is in big demand for medical treatment and other purposes.
  • Radioactive tellurium is chiefly produced from nuclear fission products, and several processes, such as precipitation, distillation or separation by adsorption chromatography are in practical use. However, these methods have defects in that separation is incomplete and highly pure products or carrier-free products are not obtained, or remotely controlled operation is difficult.
  • the method of this invention comprises: dissolving in a hydrogen halide acid or a thiocyanate solution an actinide element or its compound that has been irradiated with neutrons or other accelerated particles such as protons, alpha-particles and photons, bringing said solution in contact with Ni, Bi, Cu, Ag, or Hg, letting radioactive tellurium found among the fission products of said element deposit sponstaneously and selectively on said metal, and removing said metal together with the deposit from the solution, dissolving said metal in a mineral acid, and separating the radioactive tellurium from said mineral acid solution by a suitable method.
  • radioactive tellurium we mean *Te (42 min.), Te (50 min.), Te (78 hours), Te (1.2 day), Te (33 days), and Te (105 days).
  • Te life is referred to in parentheses.
  • the species of isotope produced depends upon the duration of irradiation and cooling. This problem is discussed later.
  • the amount of non-radioactive tellurium in the fission products of actinide elements is negligible, though some may exist. Therefore, carrier-free radioactive tellurium is obtained by this method.
  • the radioactive tellurium is obtained in the form of 0.51 N hydrochloric acid solution, which is a very suitable form for use or for further processing of the recovered radioactive tellurium.
  • Tellurium in 0.1-0.5 N hydrochloric acid solution is adsorbed by a cation exchanger in hydrogen form, and the adsorbed tellurium is desorbed by washing with 1 N or more concentrated hydrochloric acid. The mechanism of the adsorption and desorption is not yet clearly known.
  • tellurium must be quadrivalent in order to be adsorbed well by the cation exchanger.
  • FIG. 1 shows the gamma ray spectrum of Te sep arated by means of copper.
  • FIG. 2 shows the relation between the deposition yield of Te and the HCl concentration in the deposition medium.
  • EXAMPLE 1 One-tenth gram (0.1 g.) of uranyl acetate was irradiated in the Japan Research Reactor No. 1 (JRR-l) at the neutron flux 10 neutrons/cm. sec. for 10 hours (3.6)(10 neutrons/cm. in total flux). In this condition, the radioactive tellurium isotope to be produced is Te. After being taken out of the reactor, the uranyl acetate was dissolved in a hydrochloric acid solution to make 5 ml. of 1 N hydrochloric acid solution.
  • the solution was passed through a column of cation exchange resin in hydrogen form so that the tellurium might be adsorbed by the resin.
  • the concentration of hydrochloric acid in the solution must be 0.1-05 N.
  • the cation exchanger Diaion SK1 manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Industries, Ltd, which is equivalent to Dowex 50 X-8, was employed.
  • the exchanger column was washed with a hydrochloric acid solution, the concentration of which is O.l0.5 N. Then the adsorbed tellurium was eluted selectively by 1 N hydrochloric acid solution.
  • the collected solution was checked by gamma ray spectrometiy.
  • the gamma ray spectra obtained are shown in FIG. 1, and they are the same as those of the known specimen of Te.
  • Te By beta decay, Te incessantly produces 1, which accompanies the former all the time.
  • no gamma radiation caused by nuclides other than Te I were detected.
  • the amount of Te produced in the irradiated uranyl acetate was about 10 microcuries immediately after the irradiation was finished; the amount of Te in the collected final solution was 2 microcuries which corresponds to 8 microcuries as of immediately after the irradiation.
  • EXAMPLE 3 An experiment closely paralleling Example 1 was carried out using hydrobromic acid as the deposition medium instead of hydrochloric acid and nickel pieces instead of copper pieces as the depositing agent.
  • the initial amount of Te in the irradiated uranyl acetate microcuries.
  • EXAMPLE 4 EXAMPLE 5 The same experiment was carried out with respect to 1 mol/u sodium thiocyanate solution and 5 mol/ 1 ammonium thiocyanate solution, 1 X 1 cm. copper plates being used as depositing agent.
  • EXAMPLE 6 One-tenth gram (0.1 g.) of the irradiated uranyl acetate was dissolved in 1 N hydrofluoric acid to finally make 2 ml. of solution.
  • Te was deposited by means of 60 mg. of mercury in the same way as described in Examples l and 2.
  • EXAMPLE 7 Two milliliter batches of the solutions of various concentrations of hydrochloric acid and potassium thiocyanate each containing 0.1 microcuries of Te were prepared. To each solution, 60 mg. of mercury was added and the same operation as in Example 2 was repeated, and radioactivity of the tellurium deposited on the mercury and that remaining in the solution was measured, and thus the yields of tellurium under various conditions were determined. The results with respect to variety in concentration of hydrochloric acid are shown in FIG. 2. When the concentration of HCl was 1 N, the yield was 70% by radioactivity. When it was more than 2 N, the yield was more than 99% by radioactivity. In the case in which potassium thiocyanate was used, the yield was 90% by radioactivity for 1 M/l, and more than 99% by radioactivity for more than 2 M/l concentration. Even if uranium existed in the solution, the yield did not decrease.
  • tellurium was separated from the metal on which it was deposited by means of an ion exchanger after the metal had been dissolved in nitric acid, the solution evaporated, and the remaining solid dissolved in HCl.
  • this separation can be carried out by any known method, for instance, electrolytic deposition, liquid-liquid extraction by tributyl phosphate, or precipitation by addition of carrier tellurium.
  • radioactive tellurium with a non-radioactive tellurium carrier is obtained.
  • Any material containing radioactive tellurium that can be made into a solution with hydrogen halide acid or thiocyanate solution can be used as a starting material.
  • Radioactive tellurium is obtained in a solution in 0.5-1 N hydrochloric acid, which is a very convenient form for later treatment or use.
  • a method of producing radioactive tellurium comprising (1) dissolving a nuclear fission product containing radioactive tellurium in an aqueous solution of a hydrogen halide acid having a concentration of at least 1 N to obtain an aqueous solution of the fission product,
  • a method of producing radioactive tellurium comprising (1) dissolving a nuclear fission product containing radioactive tellurium in an aqueous solution of a thiocyanate having a concentration of at least 1M/ liter to obtain an aqueous solution of the fission product,

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Inorganic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • High Energy & Nuclear Physics (AREA)
  • Inorganic Compounds Of Heavy Metals (AREA)
  • Medicines Containing Antibodies Or Antigens For Use As Internal Diagnostic Agents (AREA)
  • Manufacture And Refinement Of Metals (AREA)
US581494A 1965-10-12 1966-09-23 Method for producing radioactive tellurium Expired - Lifetime US3545925A (en)

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JP6216465 1965-10-12

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DE (1) DE1544054A1 (fr)
FR (1) FR1496047A (fr)
GB (1) GB1118859A (fr)

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* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN115424757B (zh) * 2022-08-17 2024-06-11 西南科技大学 一种高碘保留率固化含碘废物的方法

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3387928A (en) * 1965-04-08 1968-06-11 Dow Chemical Co Recovery of tellurium and/or selenium from aqueous solutions

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3387928A (en) * 1965-04-08 1968-06-11 Dow Chemical Co Recovery of tellurium and/or selenium from aqueous solutions

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FR1496047A (fr) 1967-09-22
GB1118859A (en) 1968-07-03
DE1544054A1 (de) 1970-04-09

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