Production of iodine-131 by wet distillation from H2SO4 medium

The present study describes the production of carrier-free iodine-131 from tellurium dioxide targets irradiated with thermal neutrons. The irradiated tellurium was dissolved in 20 % sodium hydroxide solution then acidified to 8 N sulphuric acid, oxidized by hydrogen peroxide and boiled for 3 hours. The produced 131I2 gas was carried out of the still with a stream of flowing air current into a receiver containing a mixture of 0.1N NaOH and 0.01N Na2S2O3 solutions. The quality control data, included separation factor, recovery yield, radionuclidic, radiochemical and chemical purity of the 131I product solution, proved the validity of this method for the production of radioiodine-131 for medical use