Measurement of fission neutron spectrum averaged cross sections of some threshold reactions on zirconium:: Production possibility of no-carrier-added 90Y in a nuclear reactor

Employing the activation technique in combination with radiochemical separations and high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy fission neutron spectrum averaged cross sections were measured for several (n, p) and (n, alpha) reactions on isotopes of zirconium; our measurements constitute the first systematic study. The special interest was in the investigation of the Zr-90(n, p)Y-90 reaction for the production of no-carrier-added Y-90 in a nuclear reactor. At a fast neutron flux density of 7.5 x 10(13) cm(-2) s(-1) and an irradiation time of 120 h, using 100% enriched Zr-90 target 0.548 GBq of no-carrier-added Y-90 per batch could be produced. The method is thus suitable for medium-scale production of this radionuclide.