School of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230000, China.
Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230000, China.
Molecules. 2023 Feb 22;28(5):2040. doi: 10.3390/molecules28052040.
Currently, international nuclear fission reactors producing medical isotopes face the problem of shutdown and maintenance, decommissioning, or dismantling, while the production capacity of domestic research reactors for medical radioisotopes is inadequate, and the supply capacity for medical radioisotopes faces major challenges in the future. Fusion reactors are characterized by high neutron energy, high flux density, and the absence of highly radioactive fission fragments. Additionally, compared to fission reactors, the reactivity of the fusion reactor core is not significantly affected by the target material. By building a preliminary model of the China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR), a Monte Carlo simulation was performed for particle transport between different target materials at a fusion power of 2 GW. The yields (specific activity) of six medical radioisotopes (C, Sr, P, Cu, Cu, and Mo) with various irradiation positions, different target materials, and different irradiation times were studied, and compared with those of other high-flux engineering test reactors (HFETR) and the China Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR). The results show that this approach not only provides competitive medical isotope yield, but also contributes to the performance of the fusion reactor itself, e.g., tritium self-sustainability and shielding performance.
目前，生产医用同位素的国际核裂变反应堆面临着停机维护、退役或拆除的问题，而国内医用放射性同位素研究反应堆的生产能力不足，医用放射性同位素的供应能力在未来面临重大挑战。核聚变反应堆的特点是中子能量高、通量密度高，而且没有高放射性裂变碎片。此外，与裂变反应堆相比，核聚变堆芯的反应性受靶材料的影响不大。通过建立中国聚变工程试验堆（CFETR）的初步模型，对 2GW 聚变功率下不同靶材料之间的粒子输运进行了蒙特卡罗模拟。研究了六种不同辐照位置、不同靶材料和不同辐照时间的医用放射性同位素（C、Sr、P、Cu、Cu 和 Mo）的产额（比活度），并与其他高通量工程试验堆（HFETR）和中国实验快堆（CEFR）进行了比较。结果表明，这种方法不仅提供了有竞争力的医用同位素产额，而且对聚变反应堆本身的性能也有贡献，例如氚的自持性和屏蔽性能。
