Realization of an ICR enriching machine: a possible kick-off in view of FP7? P. Benetti University of Pavia and INFN, sezione di Pavia (Italy) IDEA Meeting, Saragoza nov. 2005

Some news from Italy: In the last september, the V National Scientific Commission of INFN has discussed and approved a research proposal, ISOPRO, submitted by P. Benetti and E. Previtali It is a small research grant mainly aimed to the preparation of a request to the EU VII FP in the field of separation of stable isotope having scientific interest.

Isotope request: Small quantity (g) Sizeable quantity (Kg) of particular interest to this community Large quantity (tons) Scientific demands usually fall in the first two categories and - for isotope masses larger than, say, 20 – are currently satisfied by centrifuges or electromagnetic separators. More recently, a new kind of separator, called PSP or ICR, has been used (Theragenics, Pd 102).

All the above mentioned techniques have been originally conceived and designed for the enrichment of U235. Their availability and use for the separation, enrichment or depletion, of other isotopes are a nice and valuable legacy. For how long?

Isotope News Febuary 1, 1998 ORNL Calutrons in Standby Fluctuating demand for electromagnetically separated stable isotopes has led to the placement of the Oak Ridge Calutrons in a standby condition. This action was implemented on January 30, 1998 and will be reevaluated periodically. Although this decision effectively means no new production of stable isotopes at Oak Ridge, the isotope program maintains a substantial inventory of previously produced material. Our inventory of over 225 isotopes is available for sale and will continue to be available for the foreseeable future. As always, the Isotope Program staff are ready and willing to serve the isotope needs of the medical, research, and industrial communities.

SVETLANA from: Kornoukhov, IDEA meeeting Orsay 2005

Apparently all but few needs, e. g. 150Nd, are fulfilled. However there are some concerns about future availability (maintainance, lifetime, …) of currently existing plants. For instance … Council on Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals (CORAR)

In another documents it is stated that:

SCENARIO - EMIS supply is at low throughput, expensive and limited to small quantity/year - Centrifuges supply from Russia is currently satisfactory, except for some chemical elements. At the moment prices are dumped, perhaps. This availability is a heritage of the “golden age” in uranium enrichment. -What will be when existing centrifuges will need replacement? There are reasons to look for alternatives

ALTERNATIVES Laser …. but needs optical isotopic shift. Poor flexibility when changing chemical element ICR similar to calutrons as far as the flexibility and to centrifuges as far as the throughput. Only one isotopic species is singled- out. Since its establishment the Bank of pure isotopes Working Group 2 of this Community has been considering ICR. Much work has been done with french colleagues, because CEA is the natural candidate for carrying out an ICR facility.

From: G. Yu. Grigoriev, Kurchatov Insitute, Moscow

from: G. Yu. Grigoriev, Kurchatov Institute, Moscow

Integrated Large Infrastructures for Astroparticle Science, ILIAS Integrated Double Beta Decay Activity, IDEA Dossier Ion Cyclotron Resonance Demande d’avis au Commissariat de l’Energie Atomique : Le groupe de travail d’ILIAS concerné par l’approvisionnement en isotopes enrichis pour les diverses expériences de la prochaine génération sur la désinégration double bêta a été particulièrement intéressé par les performances d’une machine basée sur la technique de l’ICR. Le CEA ayant par le passé réalisé des prototypes ICR, notre groupe de travail souhaite connaître quelle pourrait être la contribution du CEA dans un tel projet dont nous présentons les caractéristiques souhaitées dans ce dossier préliminaire. Orsay, juin 2005 No answer, nov. 05

Preliminary evaluation from Pierre Louvet (CEA) Annexe 2 : note de travail sur le chiffrage d’une machine souhaitée par les expériences double bêta en Europe. Le 82Se, le 100Mo, et le 150Nd ont à peu près la même teneur naturelle (5 à 10 %) et la même différence de masse avec l’isotope le plus voisin (delta M = 2). Le facteur de séparation décroît légèrement avec la masse molaire. Le chiffrage suivant est valable pour les trois isotopes. Si l'on prend une valeur de 50% d’enrichissement, ce qui est très élevé pour une machine ICR, compte tenu de la teneur naturelle de départ, on atteint en une seule étape cette teneur de l'ordre de 50 %. Si on estime les besoins en isotopes au niveau de 100 kg à 100% de pureté, il faut prévoir 200kg à 50% soit une production au moins de 20 à 30 kg/an (le débit croît en première approximation comme la racine carrée de la masse molaire). Les expériences devront prévoir en conséquence un dimensionnement correspondant à une source double bêta enrichie en isotope souhaité au niveau de 50%. Dimensionnement approximatif suivant : Bobine : 1,1 m de diamètre, 7 m de long, 4 Tesla. Coût total de l'installation, y compris APD, APS, ingénierie 12 MEuros. Les frais de personnel sont déjà comptés en grande partie dans les 12 MEuros. Il faut a priori deux à trois physiciens en plus par rapport à cette solution clé en main. Durée du projet jusque la mise en production : entre 4 et 5 ans. Pour l'exploitation, il faut faire des hypothèses : exploitation autonome ou non (reliée à une structure existante)... Pour le strict nécessaire à l'exploitation il faut probablement une dizaine de personnes car il faut fonctionner en deux équipes de jour, soit deux fois huit heures. Application et marché potentiel au-delà des expériences double bêta 1- Médecine (diagnostics et thérapie) : Isotopes stables précurseurs d’isotopes radioactifs : 112Cd, 50Cr, 102Pd, 58Fe, 203Th,… 2- Industrie nucléaire (besoins futurs de grandes quantités) : 157Gd, 64Zn 90Zr, 58Ni, 54Fe, 97Mo,… 3- Recherche :43Ca, 168Yb 44Ca, 48Ca, 58Ni, 50Cr,76Ge, 82Se, 150Nd, 100Mo,…

Summarizing: ICR machine Throughput: kg/year of 150Nd or 82Se or 100Mo Installation cost : 12 M€ Realization time: 4-5 years Running cost: ? (staff 10 persons, + ……)

Application et marché potentiel au-delà des expériences double bêta 1- Médecine (diagnostics et thérapie) : Isotopes stables précurseurs d’isotopes radioactifs : 112Cd, 50Cr, 102Pd, 58Fe, 203Th,… 2- Industrie nucléaire (besoins futurs de grandes quantités) : 157Gd, 64Zn, 90Zr, 58Ni, 54Fe, 97Mo,… 3- Recherche :43Ca, 168Yb, 44Ca, 48Ca, 58Ni, 50Cr,76Ge, 82Se, 150Nd, 100Mo,… This could be a typical European Project. In fact, in addition to the double beta experiments …..

To italian group’ opinion, as an answer to INFN official first step it is rather urgent to: -take a decision about the submission of a proposal to the VII european Framework Program ( ) In case, Settle a small team to prepare the proposal, in particular: - define the activity to be performed - identify the main Specific Program (e.g. “Cooperation”?) within the VII FP - make a call and define the participant Nations and, within each Nation, the partners (universities, research institutes, industries) - define the time schedule, costs and so on

ElectroKhimPribor - The Russian ElectroKhimPribor Integrated Plant is the largest calutron based production facility in the world market. The SU-20 industrial separator commenced operation in 1951 as part of the Soviet nuclear program. Today it is used for separating large volumes of isotopes. E-7 is a small capacity separator that has recently been used for experimentation as well as for obtaining small quantities (0.1-10g) of various isotopes of higher enrichment. In order to secure wider distribution of enriched stable isotopes and increased sales, ElectroKhimPribor has signed a long- term agreement with Trace Sciences. This has resulted in multiple long-term contracts for the delivery of stable isotopes to nearly all of the world’s large commercial isotope consumers. For more than 50 years, ElectroKhimPribor has maintained excellence in product quality and customer satisfaction. Key isotopes available for nuclear medicine include: Tl203, Sr88, Lu176, Pd102, Re185 and Gd152. From Trace Sciences International

through 1972 (L.O. Love, Science 1973)