Process of generating germanium
The present disclosure generally relates to a new process for generating germanium-68 from an irradiated target body. The process includes irradiation of the target body followed by various extraction techniques to generate the germanium-68.
1. A process for generating a radioisotope, the process comprising:
bombarding a target body including a starting material, wherein the bombardment of the starting material produces a radioisotope within the target body;
allowing the bombarded target body to decay;
stripping the bombarded target body with an acidic mixture to create a stripped solution, wherein the acidic mixture includes 3 M to 6 M hydrochloric acid (HCl) and 6 M to 15 M nitric acid (HNO 3 );
extracting the radioisotope from the stripped solution using a non-polar solvent to remove the acidic mixture and create a non-polar solvent fraction including the radioisotope;
washing the non-polar solvent fraction including the radioisotope; and,
extracting the radioisotope from the non-polar solvent fraction using water.
2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the radioisotope is germanium-68.
3. The process of claim 1 , wherein the starting material is an alloy comprising gallium.
4. The process of claim 3 , wherein the alloy includes a metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, indium, tin, iron, ruthenium, osmium, chromium, rhenium, molybdenum, tungsten, manganese, cobalt, rhodium and combinations thereof.
5. The process of claim 3 , wherein the alloy includes from about 10% to about 80% gallium, by weight of the alloy.
6. The process of claim 3 , wherein the alloy includes gallium and nickel.
7. The process of claim 6 , wherein the alloy includes from about 60% to about 75% gallium and from about 25% to about 40% nickel, by weight of the alloy.
8. The process of claim 1 , wherein the acidic mixture includes 3 M to 6 M hydrochloric acid (HCl) and 6 M to 15 M nitric acid (HNO 3 ).
9. The process of claim 8 , wherein the acidic mixture includes 4.5 M HCl and 10 M HNO 3 .
10. The process of claim 1 , wherein the target body is bombarded by a particle accelerator.
11. The process of claim 10 , wherein the particle accelerator includes a cyclotron.
12. The process of claim 1 , wherein the non-polar solvent fraction is washed with HCl.
13. The process of claim 1 , wherein the non-polar solvent is selected from the group consisting of heptane, hexane, cyclohexane, pentane and carbon tetrachloride.
14. A method of using a target body to produce germanium-68, the method comprising:
bombarding a target body including a gallium-nickel alloy, wherein the bombardment of the gallium-nickel alloy produces a germanium radioisotope within the target body;
allowing the bombarded target body to decay;
stripping the bombarded target body with an acidic mixture to create a stripped solution, wherein the acidic mixture includes 3 M to 6 M hydrochloric acid (HCl) and 6 M to 15 M nitric acid (HNO 3 );
extracting the germanium radioisotope from the stripped solution using a non-polar solvent to remove the acidic mixture and create a non-polar solvent fraction including the germanium radioisotope;
washing the non-polar solvent fraction including the germanium radioisotope; and
extracting the germanium radioisotope from the non-polar solvent fraction using water.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the non-polar solvent is selected from the group consisting of heptane, hexane, cyclohexane, pentane and carbon tetrachloride.
16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the alloy includes from about 60% to about 75% gallium and from about 25% to about 40% nickel, by weight of the alloy.
17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the acidic mixture includes 4.5 M HCl and 10 M HNO 3 .
18. The method of claim 14 , wherein the non-polar solvent fraction is washed with HCl.