Systems and processes for the production and collection of radioactive isotopes

摘要

Installing through a fuel assembly mechanism thimble insert into a conventional instrumentation cymbal in a nuclear fuel assembly for the purpose of allowing the material to be converted into a commercially valuable amount of desired radioisotope during reactor power operation during the remainder of the fuel cycle, Once the fuel assembly is removed for fuel replenishment, means are provided for removing radioactive isotopes from the core through the reactor flange openings. The present invention also describes a method that can be used to harvest irradiated material such that the desired radioisotope (s) from the reactor can be packaged to transport it to a location where it can be extracted from the fuel assembly mechanism thimble insert.