At the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), high-purity radioactive ion beams will be produced for user experiments in nuclear science research. During normal operation, excess radionuclides will accumulate along the beamline from the beam purification process. Due to the significant demand for many radionuclides, there is interest in collecting, purifying, and using byproduct isotopes produced at FRIB, called isotope harvesting. Preliminary isotope harvesting efforts have been ongoing at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), such as the aqueous collection of 24Na, 67Cu, 48V, and 88Zr. In this work, the viability of isotope harvesting using solid collection of 88Zr, an isotope relevant to stockpile stewardship, was examined. Through a proof-of-concept experiment at the NSCL, 88Zr beam was stopped in a series of collectors comprised of Al, Cu, W, and Au. 88Zr was radiochemically recovered from each of these collectors and yields compared to previous aqueous harvesting efforts. Results of the harvesting experiment and the radiochemical recovery from Cu and Al collectors will be discussed. For elements of interest that readily hydrolyze in near-neutral pH aqueous conditions, such as Zr, harvesting through solid-phase collection may allow for higher recovery yields compared to aqueous harvesting.

Solid-phase isotope harvesting of 88Zr

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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