Demonstration of the MOEX Process Using Additive-Manufacturing-Fabricated Annular Centrifugal Contactors

ABSTRACT

Additive manufacturing/3D printing is a rapidly maturing field with potential advantages for the fabrication of chemical processing equipment. A demonstration of the molybdenum solvent-extraction process, developed to recover Mo for the production of ⁹⁹Mo/^99mTc from enriched ⁹⁸Mo or ¹⁰⁰Mo, was accomplished using a nine-stage bank of additive-manufacturing-fabricated 2-cm annular centrifugal contactor-separator devices. The results from the demonstration are presented along with the benefits and shortcomings of the 3D printed contactors. This paper also discusses recent developments in the design of 3D printed contactors in order to improve reliability and mitigate the effects of chemical degradation of additive-manufacturing media.

KEYWORDS:

• Medical radioisotope production
• Mo-99
• solvent extraction
• MOEX
• centrifugal contactors
• additive manufacturing

Acknowledgments

We thank Yifen Tsai for performing ICP-MS analyses. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s NNSA Office of Material Management and Minimization, under Contract DE-AC02-06CH11357. Argonne National Laboratory is operated for the U.S. Department of Energy by Chicago Argonne, LLC. Declarations of interest: none.