Gadolinium-153 production at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Gadolinium-153 production at ORNL involves the neutron irradiation of natural europium oxide (47.8% 151Eu, 52.2% 153Eu). This target material undergoes a series of neutron captures and radioactive decays to produce the desired 153Gd product. Several undesirable europium isotopes (152Eu, 154Eu, and 156Eu) are also produced during this irradiation process. Recent technical advances and other improvements in the radiochemical processing of this isotope have allowed ORNL to increase production by more than sevenfold. A newly developed electrochemical process separates the bulk of undesirable europium isotopes. The use of this process increases the efficiency of the high-pressure ion exchange step and effects a final product purity of >99.999%. Specific activities >60 Ci/g of gadolinium oxide and product specific yields >2.9 Ci/g of irradiated europium oxide have been produced. Use of unique glove box manipulators and special equipment designed at ORNL have allowed final source fabrication to keep pace with the increased production rate while minimizing the radiation exposure to operating personnel. 3 figs., 4 tabs